In today's world, it seems like there's a subscription service for everything, including medical devices like contact lenses. What’s more convenient than having something you need shipped right to your door? With inventions like Amazon Prime, we’re taught that we really can have all of our wants right at our fingertips. However, subscription services for medical devices could be doing more harm than good.
“What? Contacts aren’t medical devices! They’re all the same and ANYONE can wear ANY lens!”
WRONG! Contact lenses are complex! There are hundreds of different materials and parameters designed to fit thousands of eye shapes and sizes! Therefore, not all lenses are created equal. This is where your doctor comes in to save the day. Because contact lenses are all so different, it takes a specialist, like Dr. Pulsfus, to fit them properly based on your specific ocular needs. She takes into consideration your prescription, the size and curvature of your eye, your ocular health, and your daily habits to determine which lens best suits your unique eyes.
“Well, of course I’m going to see Dr. Pulsfus for my prescription! I just need the numbers and I’ll be good to go!”
The eyes have other needs aside from visual correction. The cornea, the part of your eye on which the contact sits, needs oxygen to survive. Depriving our corneas of oxygen can lead to corneal swelling, eye infections, and a list of other problems. The eye also needs moisture. Overuse or misuse of contact lenses can seriously impact the comfort of your lenses, not to mention make you susceptible to infections, abrasions, ulcers, etc.
“Okay, I get that contacts need to be used and fit properly. I’ve seen my eye doctor and my eyes are healthy; I’m going to buy my contacts online though because it’s probably cheaper. Maybe I’ll try Hubble or one of those other subscription services to save a couple of dollars.”
We’ve been hearing a lot about Hubble contacts from patients, other bloggers, and eyecare professionals. One blogger, an optometrist who works for the VA, actually experienced Hubble firsthand here and gives an account of what it was like working with the website, ordering, and subsequently wearing Hubble brand contact lenses. We encourage your to read through the entire blog post, but here is the “too long, didn’t read” version:
An optometrist for the Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) decided to use the Hubble contact lens subscription service in an effort to save some money on his daily disposable contact lenses. He has no financial interest in selling contacts so his bias is solely focus on the comfort and health of the eye. This doctor found that he was unable to wear the contacts an entire workday due to dryness.
Through research, he discovered that Hubble lenses are made out of methafilicon A, a “material is so old that the company that originally manufactured [it] has discontinued the lenses, simply because there is MUCH better stuff out there nowadays.” To put in another way, this material was released when we were still using corded telephones. If you don’t want to use old technology in your phone, why would you want that for your contacts which go on the only pair of eyes you get?
Contact lenses are rated on their oxygen permeability and Hubble contacts offer almost no permeability! No wonder they were so uncomfortable on this optometrist’s eyes. Contact lenses that aren’t allowing enough oxygen to flow to the cornea can cause irreversible damage to your eyes.
"So who can I trust and how can I keep my contacts affordable?"
We all only get one pair of eyes, and though it might be tempting to try to find a deal, we recommend saving your bargain hunting for more replaceable things. Dr. Pulsfus’ primary concern is the long-term health of your eyes. But we also have a few tricks up our sleeve to make sure you save the most on your contacts. Our opticians and doctor work together to ensure we find a comfortable, healthy, and affordable solution for your eyes.