Eye tests

Soldato
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22 Nov 2007
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Hi all

I have my 2 year eye test appointment on Saturday and i was thinking if my eyes have got worse but I can get around fine in my current glasses, do I really need to pay £500-ish for a new pair of glasses to see slightly better?
My prescription is -5 and -7 so new glasses are quite expensive and it just seems that opticians just herd you to the salesman after the testand pressure you into buying a new pair. Is it really necessary if for example my prescription changes by less than 1 diopter. Surely if it had changed by more than that I would be struggling generally i would think.

tldr: is it bad to wear glasses that are understrength?
 
Soldato
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Had an eye test 2 weeks ago, the first for 4 years (thanks covid), try Specsavers as I paid under £400 (varifocals with more expensive frames, and a 'free' pair of vari sunglasses)
Eyes are important.
 
Soldato
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You're essentially asking for medical advice here. But technically yes it is bad, as an incorrect prescription will put more strain on the eye potentially speeding up any further degradation.
 
Caporegime
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Oh that is interesting how much cheaper your glasses were. If there is a change I think i'll get a copy of my prescription and look elsewhere.

Go to Specsavers, get an eye test for £20, which is often knocked off you if you buy glasses afterwards.

Then look at lenses and price, then decide.

It doesn't even need to be £150, I went for branded frames, I have FCUK frames...but you can get like £20 frames. It is so much cheaper, same product as Vision Express.
 
Soldato
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Go to Specsavers, get an eye test for £20, which is often knocked off you if you buy glasses afterwards.

Then look at lenses and price, then decide.

It doesn't even need to be £150, I went for branded frames, I have FCUK frames...but you can get like £20 frames. It is so much cheaper, same product as Vision Express.

I go to an independant opticians, it is £50 for the test but they are very thorough so i don't mind paying that. If i can get the glasses cheaper elsewhere like specsavers though i will certainly look into that. Thanks for info, there must be a huge mark up if specsavers can do it for much less!
 
Caporegime
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I go to an independant opticians, it is £50 for the test but they are very thorough so i don't mind paying that. If i can get the glasses cheaper elsewhere like specsavers though i will certainly look into that. Thanks for info, there must be a huge mark up if specsavers can do it for much less!

I don't find the optometrist in my store to be less thorough than Vision Express, they do the same tests, in fact it's been updated now on LCD monitor and also the usual puff test for the eye ball, the scan to the back of the eye. There is some kind of graph/chart that compares eyeball/blood vessels to the population to check if you are within range for your age group. All kind of stuff.
 
Soldato
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I'd look online for purchasing once you have a prescription V seemed to me you can get them 1/3 of price

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...quality-v-price.18486966/page-4#post-33170755

this - the only thing they don't provide with the prescription is pupil distance....when I went to get glasses at Vision Express few weeks ago they marked on the glasses I chose with a marker pen where my pupils were, I'm not sure if that's just for distance or for position incase your eyes aren't evenly spaced! But ordering online is much cheaper
Not sure what the retuns policy with online is though...at least with an opticians you can take them back until they get them right
 
Caporegime
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Pupil distance is important, it is where it align to your eyes. They do this too at all high street opticians. It’s quite hard to measure this yourself.

After you get the eye test done and tried on the frames, they asked me to put it on and then they measured it and marked it on the lens itself from off the shelf.

It’s useful because I used the same information and bought lenses for my Oculus Quest, so I can play VR without glasses.

I can't believe i went to Vision Express, I still have a receipt from the time when i got a pair of normal with a pair of prescription sunglasses from them, the bill came to almost £1k!!!!

I bought the same thing 5 months ago from Specsavers, it came to £330. The only difference is Specsavers does not do the mirror finish on the sunglasses, it is still polarised and same index.

But to save £600 total for the mirror finish...that's fine by me!
 
Soldato
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Thats why i wouldn't buy glasses online with a prescription like mine. The pupil distance is too important to get wrong but i really don't like paying out £500 for glasses especially if its only a small improvement in vision..
 
Soldato
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Just go the whole hog and get them lasered! It'll pay for itself in savings from glasses and the quality of life improvement is massive. For reference, I was -7.25 in both eyes and nearly 10 years on I'm 0/-0.25, pretty pleased for the £2k outlay. :)
 
Soldato
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Just go the whole hog and get them lasered! It'll pay for itself in savings from glasses and the quality of life improvement is massive. For reference, I was -7.25 in both eyes and nearly 10 years on I'm 0/-0.25, pretty pleased for the £2k outlay. :)

I would never do that. Have read far too many horror stories about it. Some people are happy to take that risk but not me!

What do you mean improvement in quality of life? I can see fine in glasses, they aren't a big deal to me. Been wearing them since i was about 10(32 now).
 
Soldato
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What do you mean improvement in quality of life? I can see fine in glasses, they aren't a big deal to me. Been wearing them since i was about 10(32 now).

Little things like being able to get up in the morning and see straight away, going swimming and not having to wear glasses. I also do a lot of outdoor sports and not having to faff with glasses is a huge improvement. I was about 8 when I got glasses and wore them through to 27, I just wish I'd got it done sooner.
 
Soldato
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Brighton
Hi all

I have my 2 year eye test appointment on Saturday and i was thinking if my eyes have got worse but I can get around fine in my current glasses, do I really need to pay £500-ish for a new pair of glasses to see slightly better?
My prescription is -5 and -7 so new glasses are quite expensive and it just seems that opticians just herd you to the salesman after the testand pressure you into buying a new pair. Is it really necessary if for example my prescription changes by less than 1 diopter. Surely if it had changed by more than that I would be struggling generally i would think.

tldr: is it bad to wear glasses that are understrength?

https://lowcostglasses.co.uk

They go down to -8.

I just bought a backup pair from them, £11 delivered for a decent Dunlop frame and the basic lenses. My normal ones I paid about £40 total for thinner lenses.

I'm -4 and -3.25 so not as strong, but they also offer an even thinner option for another £20 or so.
 
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