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Contact Lens Fitting

CONTACT LENS FITTING FAQS

You’re probably here because we keep nagging you to get a contact lens fitting before ordering contact lenses online. What is this fitting business, anyway, and why is it so important?

Eyeglasses prescriptions cannot be used for contact lenses.  Briefly, a contact lens fitting is where your optometrist gives you the precise prescription for contacts and gives you trial lenses to see if they suit your eyes.

 

Here are the steps for receiving a contact lens fitting:

  1. Go to an Optometrist and request a "contact lens fitting".   Don't rely on an Optician to do this process, as Opticians usually have insufficient training to properly identify vision issues. Opticians cannot perform full eye exams and this process is critical to ensuring that your vision prescription is fully up-to-date.
  2. The Optometrist should give you at least a short eye exam in order to double check your current prescription. It is very normal to be charged a fee for this part of the process.
  3. Then the Optometrist should provide you with a set of trial lenses.  If the Optometrist charges you money for the trial lenses themselves, this may be in violation of the College of Optometry bylaws for your province. If you suspect that the Optometrist is charging you for trials, you may want to look up the College of Optometry for your province and inquire with them if such an action is in compliance with the bylaws of your province.
  4. Once you have tried one pair of trial lenses, the Optometrist should request that you return sometime very soon, often between a few days and a week. The Optometrist will ask you to relay your experience as to how they feel and how your vision is with the trial lenses. If these lenses are uncomfortable or if your vision is not sufficient, then the Optometrist should provide you with a different product and/or prescription.
  5. Eventually, after trial and error, you should be able to finally find a contact lens product that works for you.
  6. The Optometrist is then required to provide you with all the specifics of that contact lens product and prescription. If they do not, we recommend that you contact your College of Optometry for your province to inquire whether that is in compliance with the bylaws of your province.

 Getting a contact lens fitting from your optometrist will not only assure you of using comfortable lenses in the right power and fit for your eyes, it will also save you money in the long run.  It costs less to get a fitting and try multiple free trial lenses than to buy whole boxes of contact lenses yourself and and find that they don't fit.  (We accept returns only if the box is unopened, as per our return policy.)
Here is a video from our CEO explaining why you need a contact lens fitting before shopping online: https://youtu.be/UJlv3QIju-w

No, sorry!

  1.  A contact lens prescription will be quite different from an eyeglass prescription.  The eyeglasses sit on your nose, after all, while the lenses have to actually fit on your cornea.  The shape and size of your eyes have to be in the prescription as well.
  2. Contact lenses are not created equal.   They are made with varying materials, some of which may irritate your eyes.  They also breathe and fit differently.  Your eyes can be permanently damaged by using the wrong contacts.  Don't do it!

Sorry, we don't advise this either.

  1. Contact lenses are made with different parameters for each product line.    For instance, the base curve and diameter of most lenses are fixed.  Wearing a base curve or diameter that does not match the curve or size of your eye can be very uncomfortable.
  2. As mentioned above, contact lenses are made with different materials across various product lines.  A certain combination of materials may suit your eyes while another may cause you irritation.
optometrist & defective contact lens
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