Contact Lenses

Contact lenses

The sale and supply of contact lenses is governed by the Opticians Act 1989: http://www.optical.org/en/about_us/legislation/opticians_act.cfm

More advice: https://www.aop.org.uk/advice-and-support/policy/campaigns/zero-powered-contact-lenses

It's illegal to sell or supply contact lenses unless you're a qualified optician. The act's definition of "seller" is broad:

(i) includes any person who supplies the optical appliance or, as the case may be, the zero powered contact lens whether or not payment is made to him for the supply...

So unless the Freegler offering contact lenses is an optician, doing so would be illegal.

Contact lens solution

In January 2019, a volunteer (Robert, Leeds) did some local research and concluded that contact lens solution shouldn't be offered or requested on our communities:

"After speaking to several opticians (Boots, Specsavers and some independents) to get a wide range of answers, the overwhelming answer was to dispose of it even if it is unopened and within expiry date. They class it as a medical item so they advised it should not be given away by the public. There are different kinds of solution and the optician would recommend which to use, so they could end up with something unsuitable. The British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) website says expired solution, and lenses, must be discarded, with a few other sources saying that use of expired solution can cause infection."

From the BCLA website:

To get the best out of your lenses it's important to use the solutions recommended to you by your contact lens practitioner for your particular lens type and to follow the instructions carefully. Your practitioner may record the solutions recommended on your contact lens specification.

Are all contact lens solutions the same? No. Different solutions contain different ingredients and may require different steps to be effective. Some lens solution combinations may be more compatible with your eyes than others, so don't switch the solution you use except on the advice of your practitioner.

In June 2025, a conversation on Central (https://discourse.ilovefreegle.org/t/all-in-one-contact-lens-solution/8643) highlighted the ambiguity of being able to buy solution from supermarkets, yet it's still considered a "medical device". One suggestion was that contact lens solution is good for cleaning spectacles and glass, so a moderator's note could be added advising that the solution isn't allowed under MHRA guidelines, but can be used for cleaning.

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