Question 1

What are contact lens solutions and why are they important?

Accepted Answer

Contact lens solutions are products designed to clean, disinfect and care for your monthly or weekly lenses. Typically, you would use them at the end of the day when you’re taking your contacts out for the night, cleaning and rinsing them first before storing them in a contact lens case filled with more solution.

There are different types of solution for contact lenses, depending on how you like to use them and what type of lenses you wear.

The most common kind of solution is multi-purpose solutions, used for soft contact lenses made from hydrogel or silicone hydrogel. As the name suggests, these are an all-in-one option that can be used to store, clean and re-wet monthly, weekly and daily lenses.

Contact lens cleaners and saline solutions are perfect for effectively removing any dirt or debris from your lens surface, ensuring clean lenses that feel fresh to wear. If they need a deeper clean, you may want to use a protein removal tablet instead of a solution, such as Ultrazyme Universal or Amiclair.

Gas permeable solutions are made to clean, disinfect and store RGP or hard contact lenses. As they are made from a different material to soft contacts, they need a different type of solution. The good news is that products like Total Care and Boston Simplus are all-in-one options that are perfect for cleaning, storing and disinfecting rigid gas permeable lenses.

If you’re heading off on a trip it might not be so convenient for you to take your solution with you, particularly with airport restrictions on liquids. In this case, you can pick up a travel or flight pack. These perfectly portable bottles are ideal for a trip away and fit easily into your hand luggage.

Question 2

Why should I order from Vision Direct?

Accepted Answer

At Vision Direct, we sell the same contact lenses and eye care products from the same manufacturers as high street opticians at up to 45% less. As a standard, you can get free speedy delivery on all orders over the value of €59. We offer discounts to our email subscribers who can get early access to our promotions throughout the year, including our seasonal sales and Black Friday discounts. Plus, the majority of our parcels are letterbox friendly, so you don’t need to be home to receive your lens order. We offer all this without the need to have your prescription validated. Yet if you prefer, our resident optician is on hand to check your contact lens prescription as well as provide expert advice on how best to care for your lenses. And if you have any queries about ordering with us, our trained and friendly customer service team is just a call or message away. It's no surprise that we have tens of thousands of 5-star reviews on Trustpilot.

Question 3

How can I order my contact lenses with Vision Direct?

Accepted Answer

Buying your lenses with us is straightforward.

When buying contact lenses online, all you need to do is double-check your prescription on the side of a box of contact lenses you recently bought, enter the details and go through the simple checkout process.

Step 1: Navigate to any of our product pages to find your contact lens prescription details.

Step 2: On the right-hand side of the page, you can enter your contact lens prescription. If you're unsure how to read your prescription, follow the link to find out and watch our handy video for some easy-to-follow advice.

Need some help? Send us a picture of your prescription, and we can quickly double-check your details.

Step 3: Once you’ve made your selection, click “Add to Basket”.

Step 4: Check that everything looks correct in your basket. If you’re ready to order, select “Proceed to Checkout”.

Step 5: Provide your Delivery and Billing Address and enter your payment method. Accept our terms and conditions and select “Place Order”.

It’s as easy as that! See for yourself and start your contact lens order now.

Question 4

What details should my prescription include?

Accepted Answer

Learning how to read your contact lens prescription might be daunting at first. All contact lens prescriptions include a least three values: base curve, diameter, and power. However, for toric or multifocal lenses additional values will be added to the prescription, usually no more than four.

The specifications you can expect to see are as follows:

Base Curve (BC): The curvature of the lens in millimetres usually between 8.3 and 9.0.

Diameter (D): The diameter of the contact lens. This number ranges from between 13.8 to 14.5.

Power (PWR/SPH): Is a + or - figure followed by a number e.g. -4.50 or +0.25. This represents the level of visual correction needed, and whether your lenses correct long-sightedness (plus/+ powers) or short-sightedness (minus/- powers). For some contact lenses, the power may also be 0.00, plano or displayed with this symbol ∞ which is for non-prescription use e.g. coloured contact lenses.

If you have astigmatism or wear multifocal contact lenses you can read out full guide on how to read your contact lens prescription.

Question 5

Does Vision Direct stock opticians’ own brand lenses?

Accepted Answer

Many high street opticians offer their own brand contact lenses that are just rebranded and repackaged products from popular contact lens brands and manufacturers, such as Alcon, Biofinity, and CooperVision.

We stock the exact same lenses at competitive rates as well as delivery in 2-3 days, knowledgeable customer service, and a 365-day replacement guarantee and a price match promise. The only differences between the lenses we stock, and the high street is the name on the box are the packaging and most importantly the cost. See all opticians’ contact lens brand equivalents here.

How often should I have my eyes tested?

Opticians recommend that everyone receives an eye test at least every two years. Contact lens wearers need to attend an additional check-up to ensure their lenses still meet their prescription; this is usually every 12-24 months depending on the recommendation of your optician.