Many people take the step of swapping their eyeglasses for contact lenses.
However, as with glasses, a medical prescription is required to obtain contacts.
Therefore, the question arises as to whether the prescription for eyeglasses can be used for contact lenses.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to use your prescription for eyeglasses to order contact lenses.
The reason for this is that each prescription is written differently and has its own specific data.
So even if both prescriptions determine our visual impairment, they cannot be interchanged.
Therefore, in order to have contact lenses made for your eyesight, it is necessary to consult an ophthalmologist.
After a specific eye examination, the specialist can issue a prescription for contact lenses.
The ophthalmologist can also give you advice on wearing contact lenses if it is your first time.
Only with this specific prescription can you get your contact lenses from your optician.
First, the correction strength applied to each type of eyewear isn't the same.
This is due to the fact that the eyeglass lens is placed about ten millimetres away from the eye when the contact lens is directly over it.
Thus, the corrective power data will not be the same on each prescription.
In addition to that, a prescription for contact lenses contains parameters that are not present on the eyeglass prescription.
These relate to the diameter and base curve of each contact lens.
Also, each pair of contacts has a specific degree of oxygen permeability and an expiration date.
This data is essential for the preparation of a pair of contact lenses that will specifically fit your eyes.
So even if both eyewear have the same objective of correcting refractive errors, they do not carry exactly the same information.
This explains why the prescriptions are not interchangeable and why you need a specific prescription to order contact lenses.
Do not hesitate to ask your optician for further information concerning the acquisition of your pair of contact lenses.
Assistance and advice
You can call us MONDAY TO FRIDAY for a purchase in store or online from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
*(Carrier charges may apply)