Learn about how to buy contact lenses online. This is UAE shopping guide for beginners.

Contact lenses are prosthetic devices used to correct eye vision. They are considered medical devices and therefore acquiring and buying them need proper procedures and consideration. You don’t simply buy what you want without considering the pros and cons. It’s not as simple as visiting your favorite eye store and picking up the first one that catches your eye.

Buying contacts is already tricky as it is; what more if you’re going to buy contacts online? Unlike visiting a physical store to see the lenses in person, you won’t be able to assess the quality if you’re shopping online. There are, however, many advantages to buying them online, such as convenience, cost effectiveness, time saving, and more.

If you have experience in buying prescription glasses online, then you might have the basic idea of buying contacts. But if it’s your first time to buy, here’s a helpful guide to help you buy contact lenses online.

How To Buy Contact Lenses Online – UAE Shopping Guide For Beginners

Below are a few things to consider in buying a contact lens online in the UAE.

Visit an ophthalmologist

Visit an ophthalmologist. Contact lenses are medical devices, which is why you need to visit an eye doctor to get a prescription. If you choose something that’s not right for your eye, you may suffer from infection, irritation, blurred vision, or worse yet, loss of vision. If you don’t know an eye doctor in the UAE, you can ask your friends for recommendations or search online and find the most reputable one with good reviews. 

You might come across retailers that offer eye exams on their websites. You should steer clear of these because they’re not as reliable as your eye doctor. You might end up getting the wrong prescription and only hurting your eye rather than protecting it. Also be wary of cheap contact lenses and be warier of the cheapest contacts, including the cheapest colored contacts.

Should buy contacts without prescription

Check your prescription. Check the details to make sure everything is correct and you understand what is written. The important details you should take note of are the lens’ brand, base curve and diameter, the refractive power, followed by a plus or minus sign, and the expiration date. You need these details so that when you buy contact lens online from UAE shopping sites, you’ll know what to input on specific fields. In this way, it is advisable to not order contacts without prescription. Prescription contacts online is the better way to go.

If you already have an old prescription, check its expiry date. If it’s still valid, then go ahead and use it, but if it’s not, then go and visit your eye doctor to get an updated one. Most of these prescription contact lenses online or offline are good for a year, two years for some, but if you feel your eye needs checkup, don’t hesitate to book an appointment with your ophthalmologist.

Should you buy cheap contact lenses?

Don’t choose a cheaper contact lens brand than what’s prescribed to you. You might want to save money on buying contacts by going for the best priced contact lenses, cheap contact lenses online, cheap prescription colored contacts, cheapest place to buy contacts, or cheap colored contacts non prescription. But that shouldn’t involve buying a different brand than what your doctor prescribed to you simply because it’s cheaper. Different brands have different shapes as well as water content. Your doctor prescribed that specific brand to you because they know it’s best for you. Don’t substitute it with something cheaper just to save money, because that might even cost you more in the long run, if you suffer from other eye problems.

You might want to ask your doctor for a secondary brand, in case you find it hard to find the first one. At least that recommendation still came from your doctor and you know it’s still the right one for you.

Compare Prices and Offers Before You Order Contacts Online

We definitely want to the best and to be safe, but we can’t deny the fact that sometimes, we just need to save some money. When you’re shopping for a particular brand, you may get it at different prices at different contact lens shopping outlets in the UAE. Hence, it’s advisable to compare the prices on different sites and choose the one that suits your budget. You should also look out for discount contacts lenses or for coupon codes.

Also check out their ordering options. Would you want to order contact lenses online in bulk? That may help you save more money.

Best Place To Buy Contacts Online

This is not meant to point you to a best place to buy contacts online. However, it focuses on your retailer’s reputation. You should learn about your prospective retailer’s reputation. A contact lens is a sensitive gadget. Make sure you’re getting the right thing as AsiaOne.com reports in 2019 that a man in the UK goes blind in his right eye after showing with contact lenses on.

Secondly, your contact lenses will need replacements from time to time. You’ll also need additional lens care items, so having a reputable and reliable supplier is important. If you found a supplier you can trust, you can create a good relationship with them that will last a lifetime. This way, you wouldn’t have to spend your time searching for another supplier for the same contact lens the next time you want to buy it.

How do you find out about your retailer’s reputation? First thing you need to do is thoroughly check their website. Read about them, see what they have to offer, and learn about their policies. Then visit review sites, if they’re available and see what the reviews about them are like. You can also check out websites in the UAE that provide information about companies.

If you don’t find any evitable and unacceptable reviews or complaints about them, then you may start setting up your account on their website, look for your prescription contact lens, prepare to make a payment, and wait for the delivery.

Conclusion – Should You Buy Color Contact Lenses Online

Lastly, remember to use your doctor’s prescription. You may want the best online contact lenses but you should avoid cheap contacts online, especially contact lenses without prescription. If you want colored contacts online, seek advise from your ophthalmologist.