Contact prescription mix up.. help!?

Question

I got contacts from my eye doctor.. and they were mixed by mistake. They were labeled wrong.. I have had my left eye in my right eye and vice versa. I have been wearing these for 2 and a half weeks at the least, and have been bothered almost the entire time. I threw out what was originally labeled.. because they were an extra pair.. on my actual contact boxes they forgot to label them. I wish I could start a small claims case because I know that my eyes must have gotten a bit worse because of their mix up.. but since I don't have that proof I am unsure how to handle the situation. What should I do? I am so pissed!

Answer 1

You can't damage your eyes by wearing the wrong prescription. Your vision will not get worse by looking through a lens with the wrong prescription. Just start wearing the lenses in the appropriate eye from now on and you'll be fine.

Eye care providers prefer not to mark boxes with "Right" or "Left" because writing on contact lens packaging makes it unreturnable to distributors of contact lenses. It's medical product, so it also can't be resold to another patient if it appears to have been handled by another person (if it was written on).

You can determine which lens is for the left and right eye by contacting your doctor, or looking at your written prescription. On your written prescription, "OD" refers to your right eye and "OS" refers to your left eye prescription. If the prescription is not labeled OD or OS, it's safe to assume the written prescription's top line is the right eye and anything below is the left.

Once you have your lenses, it's your choice if you want to mark the packaging left and right. Just keep in mind that you can't return lenses that have been opened or marked.

Answer 2

Wearing the wrong power will not damage your eyes; you have no basis for any small claims action.