When i get contacts, wat will be my initial cost?!
Question:
When i get contacts, wat will be my initial cost?
like how much will i have to pay. if i already wear glasses and already have dat prescription, will i still ned to get a eye exam?
Answers:
You'll have to get an initial contact lens eye exam. They have to "map" your corneas to make sure they give you the correct diameter and base curve for your lenses. That initial exam usually runs around $300.00 to $400.00. The prices for the lenses themselves vary depending on what type of lenses you get. Hard contact lenses (rigid gas permeable lenses) are very expensive -- they start around $125.00 per lens -- but they last a long time. If you prefer soft contact lenses, you can get a six-month supply of monthly lenses for one eye starting around $15.00 depending on the brand. If you have astigmatism, you'll have to get toric lenses, and they start around $40.00 for a six-month supply of monthly lenses for one eye.
EXAMPLE: I have astigmatism only in my right eye, so I get CIBA Vision Focus torics for the right eye, and they run about $45.00 for a six-month supply. My left eye doesn't have astigmatism, so I can get by with CIBA Vision Focus monthlies for a little less than $20.00 for a six-month supply. So I end up spending about $130.00 to keep myself in contact lenses for a year.
Oh, by the way, when you get eye exams in the future, they charge you more if you wear contacts. Here in Detroit, you can get an eye exam for glasses only for about $60.00, but the exam for glasses and contacts is about double that (it's a crock, really -- once you've had the initial exam, the optometrists don't have to do anything extra except write a separate prescription for your contact lenses, so they're basically charging you double for no good reason).
P.S.: I get my contacts on line at http://www.lensworld.com/ You'll save 30%-40% from what they charge at the optometrist for the same lenses.