Emergency eyeglasses

The process of building our emergency supplies continues this month on a very specific note: emergency eyeglasses. All three of us wear contacts every day. I could just throw an extra pair of contacts each into the bin that we're collecting our emergency items in and add the associated supplies, but since I don't know what type or length of emergency we might need to be prepared for, I'm reluctant to do that.

What happens if we can't get more contacts? (Even though I'm also including copies of our prescriptions.) Since two of us have strong prescriptions, the thought of us not being able to see scares me. (When I take my contacts out, I can usually see my hand in front of my nose, but that's about it.)

Which leaves glasses.

My son and I both had old pairs that would do in a pinch, so I threw them into the bin. But my husband didn't have a pair of glasses at all. Glasses are expensive, especially if you hope to NEVER wear them. Since we didn't want to pay $100-$200 for a pair for him, I ordered a pair instead from Zenni Optical. That pair was $12.95, including shipping. Very affordable and perfect for our needs.

We haven't received them yet, so I can't speak to quality, but the ordering process was painless. We went to the site and selected a pair that would do, and then filled out the form using the information from my husband's prescription. The only hard part was measuring what's called “PD”, which is the distance between the pupils in millimeters. Standing there with a wooden ruler in front of my husband's head was kind of odd. But I got everything filled out and clicked submit.

Of course, as soon as I hit submit, I noticed that my husband's prescription actually LISTED the PD on it. And I'd gotten it wrong when I measured it myself. So I immediately emailed Zenni Optical and explained that I'd sent the wrong PD. They replied back that same night letting me know that they'd changed it. If you're going to order from them, I'd recommend having your PD professionally measured when you get your eye exam & prescription. The other potential downside to ordering like this is that you don't get to try on the frames, so you may not like how they look on your face. But in an emergency, I think the last thing we'll be worrying about is fashion.