Info about Contact Lenses
Contact Lenses -- The Lowdown
Did you know that the great thinker Leonardo da Vinci (the guy who painted the Mona Lisa) came up with the concept for the contact lens more than 500 year ago? It’s true. But it wasn’t until this century that humans developed enough technical know-how to actually manufacture these tiny delicate objects, which ride so inconspicuously on the very surface of your eyeballs.
For millions of people, the contact lens is a ticket to freedom from the burden of balancing a couple of pop bottle bottoms on the bridge of your nose.
But contacts are not without their drawbacks - they are expensive, can pop off your eye at the worst times, can irritate your eyes and the need a certain amount of maintenance, unless they are the kind you throw away.
• How Much
Over a 10 year period, the average total cost of wearing contacts is a whopping $4,000. That includes the price of the lenses themselves, doctor’s visits and cleaning fluids. It you opt for disposable lenses, your costs go to $5,000 to $6,000.
• Get Your Prescription
Only an ophthalmologist or optometrist can write your prescription, but it’s perfectly sate to buy your lenses for less elsewhere as long as your eye doctor or an optician does the tricky initial fitting. In some states, however, including California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, your eye doctor can insist on tilling your prescription in-house, at premium prices. So ask first, before you shell out for an eye exam and a prescription that’s not portable.
• Call Around
Like anything else, from insurance to floor carpeting, you can almost always find a bargain on contact lenses if you shop around.
A popular lens called Vistakon’s Acuvue, for example, sells for less than $7 a pair if you buy by the dozen from one mail-order house, compared to the $9 or more some optometnsts charge. If you’re replacing them every two weeks, that can save you some $50 a year. Also check with major retail discount chains, such as Wal-Mart, which sometimes have even better prices. A pair of Ciba Visions six-month Cibasoft lenses sells for $90 from some optometrists, $41 from that mail-order company, but costs only $25 at Wal-Mart.
Prices in discount stores vary widely, while a few mail-order outlets charge as much as full-service eye care centers. And be sure to ask about extra charges. Most companies add a few dollars to your bill for postage and handling, and some charge an annual membership fee or nick you for the cost of phoning your doctor to verify your prescription.
• Changing
The contacts designed to be tossed on a monthly, weekly or daily basis, cost less per pair and don’t need a regular soaking in expensive protein-removing enzymes, but the savings are offset by the number of lenses you need to buy. To save money on throw-aways, then, ask your eye doctor about changing to a longer-use lens, An example: a year’s worth of Cibasoft lenses (a pair lasts about eight months) plus enzymes costs $75, halt the cost of the 26 pairs of Acuvues you’d need in a year.
Another idea: ask if for a less expensive brand, as long as the lens you get comfortably and suits the chemistry of your eye. All else being equal, your eye doctor can try out some $26 Cibasofts to see if they fit as well as your $40 Aosofts. If the cheaper ones work for you, you’ll save a bundle.
• Get Frequent Check-ups
Don’t make the mistake of not getting regular check-ups or adjustments of your prescription. Every eye doctor has a story about a patient with corneal ulcers that resulted from people who wore their lenses too long.
Eye ulcers from your lenses can keep you from wearing contacts all together -- of they can blind you! Yes, they are that dangerous. The moral of the story — dont take chances with your precious eyesight! See your eye doctor often!
Ignoring the follow-up visits can get you in real trouble, and your savings go right out the window.