Beware the dangers of an online eye exam

According to the AOA, a recent study found that nearly half of all glasses (44.8 percent) ordered online either contained an inaccurate prescription or didn’t meet safety standards designed to protect the eyes. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of the lenses failed impact resistance testing – a major safety issue. Children’s glasses performed even worse, with 29 percent failing impact testing.

What optometrists know and patients may not is that an online eye test does not evaluate the health of your eyes. In fact, online eye tests would more accurately be called “online vision tests,” since they usually only measure visual acuity and refractive error.