How To Order Contacts Online Safely
without endangering your eye health

When you order contacts online, it can be safe, easy and convenient. However, there are a number of steps you must take in order to ensure you are preserving your eye health.


  1. Eye Examinations. You must have your eyes examined.  You need to have an accurate assessment of your vision to make sure you are ordering the correct strength of contact lens.  It is also highly recommended that you have a health exam done, since wearing contact lenses can affect the structures of your eye, including the cornea, the lids, and your tears.
  2. Contact Lens Fitting for New Wearers. You must have been fitted with contact lenses by a licensed professional. Contact lenses are medical devices, regulated by government in most countries.  Contact lenses can damage your eyes if not fitted correctly. What is involved in a contact lens fitting? Click here to find out.
  3. Contact Lens Fitting for Previous Wearers. Are you happy with the contact lenses that you have been fitted with?  It doesn't make sense to reorder contact lenses if you are not satisfied with the comfort or vision that you are getting from your contact lenses.  And the internet is not the place to try different kinds of lenses. We will explain why you need to be refit, even if you have worn contact lenses for many years. Fittings for current wearers will take less time but are still necessary.
  4. Contact Lens Specifications. You need to know the exact numbers to enter into the order form when ordering contact lenses through an online store. This is called your contact lens prescription, or contact lens specifications. When your go into an retail optical store to order your contact lenses, they will have all your information in a file that they keep on you. But if you are ordering online, you need to know that information.  If you enter the wrong information, you will get the wrong lenses. Here we help you understand the information you need to know when you place your order.

If you have completed the above steps, then there is no reason you cannot order contacts online. As long as your eyes are healthy, you are seeing your best, your contact lenses are comfortable, and you know how to care for your contact lenses, you can order your lenses over the internet without worrying about harming your eyes.


There is one last thing to consider though. The credibility of the online store that you are ordering from. The internet is a place where you have to be sure the company you are ordering through is legitamate.  We will be discussing different online stores and the things you need to look for to determine where you want to order your contact lenses from.


Finally, after you have ordered your contact lenses online, when you receive your lenses in the mail, you must check your contact lens boxes to make sure you have received what you ordered. Mistakes are made, even with legitimate businesses, and you must do your due diligence to make sure your got what you requested.  The boxes may look different, because contac lens companies do change their designs from time to time.  But make sure that the Brand name, the base curve, the power (and the cyl and axis if present) are the same as what is on your contact lens specifications. Do NOT open the boxes until you are certain that they are what you wanted. In most cases, open boxes of contact lenses are not returnable.

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