6 ms·

maybe the solution for Americans is to just travel abroad and get your lenses / glasses? In Tokyo they tested my eyes and sold me a pair of custom fitted glass

maybe the solution for Americans is to just travel abroad and get your lenses / glasses? In Tokyo they tested my eyes and sold me a pair of custom fitted glasses in 30 minutes, and it was cheap. especially when a sibling comment or talks about a 200 usd convenience fee. that is basically the airfare.

rootsudo 3y ago
In the Philippines its the same, $20, done in an hour, pick up frames. I did it in Tokyo too, and it was a bit more but same. If it wasn't for zenni optical, I wouldn't know where I'd be personally.
Broken_Hippo 3y ago
That is an option now. It has been an option for decades. If you aren't poor, that is. People save just to get a passport, let alone the travel costs and trying to get time off - and even then, your choices are limited. $200 is more than half a week's pre-tax wages if you make $8/hr.
midoridensha 3y ago
If your test in Tokyo was like mine, the only thing they did was test your actual visual acuity, to determine your prescription. They probably didn't do any kind of eye health-check, which in my experience is normal in the US. However, they do these checks in Japan, but it's part of the annual health check-up, which everyone gets AFAIK, and is free. It's not done by optometrists, but by clinics that specialize in the annual check-up. As for USD$200, that isn't going to get an American to Tokyo. Try multiplying by 10. Even before the pandemic it certainly wasn't $200 to cross the Pacific.
- madsbuch 3y ago
  Well, if you want a checkup, then the American system is fine, right? The issue are those people who just want glasses / contacts – Personally I know my specs, and often just go to a pharmacy to get a box of contacts. Also, I did not propose to go to Tokyo. There are plenty other locations that are more practical for Americans.
  - NavinF 3y ago
    I can't think of a single place that's cheaper to fly to than the price of contacts in the US. No, not Canada.
    - midoridensha 3y ago
      It probably depends on where in the US you are: if you live in Buffalo, for instance, you can probably save a bunch of money just driving over the border to Canada and getting some stuff there. If you're that close, you don't need to fly.
  - midoridensha 3y ago
    >Well, if you want a checkup, then the American system is fine, right? Not in my experience. They seem to have done away with yearly checkups altogether, claiming somehow they don't work (!). Here in Japan, you get a yearly checkup (for free!) which checks all kinds of things: eyes, ears (audiometry), chest x-ray, abdominal ultrasound, blood test, stool/urine, etc. The idea is to catch problems early instead of waiting for patients to feel like there's a problem and see a doctor on their own. The American system doesn't seem to believe in this any more, though it did decades ago.

rootsudo 3y ago

In the Philippines its the same, $20, done in an hour, pick up frames. I did it in Tokyo too, and it was a bit more but same. If it wasn't for zenni optical, I wouldn't know where I'd be personally.

Broken_Hippo 3y ago

That is an option now. It has been an option for decades. If you aren't poor, that is. People save just to get a passport, let alone the travel costs and trying to get time off - and even then, your choices are limited. $200 is more than half a week's pre-tax wages if you make $8/hr.

midoridensha 3y ago

If your test in Tokyo was like mine, the only thing they did was test your actual visual acuity, to determine your prescription. They probably didn't do any kind of eye health-check, which in my experience is normal in the US. However, they do these checks in Japan, but it's part of the annual health check-up, which everyone gets AFAIK, and is free. It's not done by optometrists, but by clinics that specialize in the annual check-up. As for USD$200, that isn't going to get an American to Tokyo. Try multiplying by 10. Even before the pandemic it certainly wasn't $200 to cross the Pacific.

madsbuch 3y ago
Well, if you want a checkup, then the American system is fine, right? The issue are those people who just want glasses / contacts – Personally I know my specs, and often just go to a pharmacy to get a box of contacts. Also, I did not propose to go to Tokyo. There are plenty other locations that are more practical for Americans.
- NavinF 3y ago
  I can't think of a single place that's cheaper to fly to than the price of contacts in the US. No, not Canada.
  - midoridensha 3y ago
    It probably depends on where in the US you are: if you live in Buffalo, for instance, you can probably save a bunch of money just driving over the border to Canada and getting some stuff there. If you're that close, you don't need to fly.
- midoridensha 3y ago
  >Well, if you want a checkup, then the American system is fine, right? Not in my experience. They seem to have done away with yearly checkups altogether, claiming somehow they don't work (!). Here in Japan, you get a yearly checkup (for free!) which checks all kinds of things: eyes, ears (audiometry), chest x-ray, abdominal ultrasound, blood test, stool/urine, etc. The idea is to catch problems early instead of waiting for patients to feel like there's a problem and see a doctor on their own. The American system doesn't seem to believe in this any more, though it did decades ago.