Where can you buy contacts worldwide without having a current exam?

Where can I buy contacts without a prescription outside of the United
States? I understand risks concerning my eye health, have had them
checked three times in the last ten years without any further
adjustments from my initial exam, and have not had any unexplained eye
discomfort, vision change or otherwise prior to the US law enacted last
February while I was buying contacts online in the states. Thx for any
info.

 

So, you understand the risks, you say. They are real---means they
really happen and if you're that someone, you have to accept the
possibility of pain, loss of vision (perhaps permanently) and big
medical expenses.

If you understand the risks, then perhaps you'll understand that eye
health professionals are not going to help to you hurt yourself and help
you break the law; USA law and other countries, too. And not a recent
law, as you state.

You cannot fit yourself, you cannot examine your own eyes to determine
their health state and you cannot depend on lenses hurting to warn you
of impending danger.

But you can indeed do what it is you contemplate. Please do first
contemplate the potential results of your actions.

Be well,

LB, O.D.

 

Larry, at least in my country (The Netherlands) people can buy via internet
or drugstores there contactlenses without a prescription and NOT breaking
any law.
And yes, it is leading to eye/contactlenses related problems in which the
Dutch government has no interest this very moment.
Most of the people living in my country have a obligated insurance (sort off
national health insurance).
Contactlens related costs are not included in this insurance and have to be
paid just out of your own pocket.
However, the costs when needing eye/contactlenses related problems by an
ophthalmologist have to be paid by this insurance, making the contributions
costs raising.
Most irritating to people who take there responsibility by having there eyes
checked in a proper way and paying for this check

 

Larry, at least in my country (The Netherlands) people can buy via internet
or drugstores there contactlenses without a prescription and NOT breaking
any law.
And yes, it is leading to eye/contactlenses related problems in which the
Dutch government has no interest this very moment.
Most of the people living in my country have a obligated insurance (sort off
national health insurance).
Contactlens related costs are not included in this insurance and have to be
paid just out of your own pocket.
However, the costs when needing eye/contactlenses related problems solved by
an
ophthalmologist have to be paid by this insurance, making the contributions
costs raising.
Most irritating to people who take there responsibility by having there eyes
checked in a proper way and paying for this check

 

Me breaking the law? There is absolutely nothing in that recent US
legislation specifying I would be breaking any laws by purchasing
contacts outside of the United States and importing them in. The law
was very specifically constructed and tailored only to US companies
selling contacts that would require me to pay a doctor for an eye exam
first. If you or anyone else is concerned and/or confused about this,
please post a third-party source link that refutes what I am saying.

-- Julia Briggs

http://www.optometry.ca.gov/ab2020.pdf (Summary of Law)
http://www.optometry.ca.gov/ab2020.pdf (Full Text)

 

If you are talking about spectacle lenses, no direct eye health risks
other than that which might arise from undetected pathology from not
having regular examinations. But lots of people don't get regular exams
and deal with pathology when symptoms arise.

If you fill an old spectacle prescription, and assuming no active
pathology is causing the optical prescription, the worse thing that
might happen is you wouldn't see as clearly as possible. The other risk
is that your new spectacle lenses, free of scratches, nice and clean,
might make you aware that you could be seeing more clearly and then you
decide to get an updated prescription and pay twice for new spectacle
lenses.

Personally, if a patient of mine wants to fill an old spec Rx, I just
have them sign off on it and make it their responsibility if something
goes wrong---with their vision or eye health. Informed consent-- that
is OK with me.

But for contact lenses, it's different. You are placing a foreign
object onto your eyeball. Physical contact. If the lens doesn't fit
correctly, if the cornea is not getting adequate oxygen and is swelling
or growing a blood supply to compensate, if the cornea epithelium is
damaged from non-compliant lens care or delayed replacement of worn out
lenses and is open to bacteria or virus infection---there can be serious
eye health consequences. New materials and designs might be able to
provide lens wearers with healthier, more comfortable lens wear or
better vision. If they avoid check-ups, they might be using inferior,
outdated or plain old unhealthy lenses.

So I'm quite adamant about contact lens prescription and compliance. If
a patient of mine doesn't do the right thing, I try to educate them. If
they still don't listen or don't care, I show them the door and send
them off to deal with the consequences on their own. Simple. The end
result is I have a 100% hassle-free contact lens practice.

The interesting result of that is that I see less patients with cornea
pathology and therefore loose out on income derived from treating their
eye disease. I just prefer to help people see great and be happy with
their vision.

The primary reason I bother to reply to posts here is simply to help
educate people on how they can best take care of their eye health and
vision. It's up to the reader to make his/her own decisions that relate
to their health. Knowledge is power.

--LB, O.D.

 

LarryDoc wrote (in part):

.. . . and if I haven't said it before, please allow me to do so now: my
humble thanks.

Anybody that's seen my posts over the years knows that I have a fairly
complex ophthalmologic history that involves significant experience with a
litany of eye doctors. The only ones who have been able to help me in the
past have a keen intellect, a love for their profession, and are excited by,
not bothered by, a medical challenge. Further, they have opened themselves
up to my participation in the medical process, sharing information with me
and allowing me to bounce information off of them.

You have those qualities, Dr. B. Bravo.

Neil

 

Where can I buy contacts without a prescription outside of the United

I know you said outside the US, but have you tried the
retailers you used in the past?

1-800-contacts is the *only* one I've used that actually
tried to verify the prescription. All others accepted the
order & shipped the contacts w/o prescription (even as a
first time customer, with no record whatsoever on file).

I'm sure they all check a certain percentage of orders...
but they sure don't check 100%.

 

People often order controlled substances without a note such as Valium
from Canada - and that is illegal. If you can find anything out there
making it a federal crime to order/traffic prescription contact lenses
into the United States then provide a direct link. Well I will save
you the time, there isn't any. So, shut up.

 

People often order controlled substances without a note such as Valium
from Canada - and that is illegal. If you can find anything out there
making it a federal crime to order/traffic prescription contact lenses
into the United States then provide a direct link. Well I will save
you the time, there isn't any. So, shut up.

 

Thanks for dropping by this newsgroup, Julia. Rarely do we get such
unmitigated petulance.

 

I am aware that making a crevice of "unmitigated petulance" may be
alarming or disturbing to those supporting or dispensing false
information.

 

The reality is that it isn't breaking the law. There are no United
States legal statutes prohibiting a consumer from buying contacts
without a prescription. The certain doctors in this forum being
considerate with opinions about eye health and supporting them with
incorrect information, seems, well, kinda self-serving and certainly
makes the opinion you think I've lost my credibility satirical.

 

It may not be illegal to purchase them, just to sell them.

DrG

 

....for dispensaries where prohibited by law.

 

My what an astute obervation, julia4_me (says it all, by the way).

DrG

 

I'm glad I replied to her first post (I'm sure there will be opportunity
to use it again). It's pretty clear she's a person for whom common sense
is neither common nor sensible and doing the right thing is the wrong
thing unless it's right for her and her alone.

As DrG said, her ID says it clearly.

 

Dear Julia,
The next thing you will be requesting is a "trial lens" kit, and the
educational support to learn to use it correctly.
Then you will be able to determine your own "prescription".
Then you would by-pass the OD completely.
Is there any law against that?

I wonder.

Best,

Otis
Engineer

 

Well, it appears by reading this thread that Julia is right and
everyone seems to be in a big fluff over it, misinformation, etc.
Reading her words, I don't sense she is a lazy cheap mentally-ill idiot
as you put it in your word salad below? Perhaps you have yourself
evaluated for that dear.

 

Hi. It appears by reading this thread that Julia is still in the legal
clear from a consumer position to buy contacts without a prescription.
I would hope she wouldn't buy them from a shady street dealer! I
imagine based on her earlier post she is looking for a crediable
company outside of the USA. If I were a doctor posting from this group
I would just stay silent to the question she asked if I was bound by
regulations preventing me from giving the specific information Julia
requests. She seems to understand potential risks. However, I think
irregardless of her personal decision to want contacts without a
current eye exam, one should expect (and hope) any certified eye-doctor
giving advice would do so in a researched, ethical and un-biased
fashion. Frankly, I would hate to think one day if I was in a emergency
room there would be a doctor from in here making money influenced
and/or unresearched decisions for me....