Broken glasses,can the glass be used again in a new frame?

[albo]

My mothers glasses snapped at the end of the arm by the hinge when I took them off today.They were a rather delicate pair.I'm wondering if anyone knows if the glass could be reused with a new frame I'm not sure if they can be repaired?.Mum has been bedbound for years and is unable to comprehend an eye test or even speak as she's very far down the dementia road so a visiting optician to get a new pair wouldn't work.

 

[My Mum's Daughter]

Suggest you visit the optician and ask if they can fit a new arm. As she's bedbound, it not really going to matter if it's not an exact match.

 

[Banjomansmate]

Unless her optician can get identical frames I’m not sure it would work.

 

[Dunroamin]

If not look online for identical frames

 

[Spottydog]

Try a good independent optician to see if they can fix them. If not they can work out the prescription from the lenses and make up a new pair.

 

[albo]

Thank you all,I shall pop to a couple of opticians today,I will let you know the outcome

 

[nitram]

Thank you all,I shall pop to a couple of opticians today,I will let you know the outcome

The optician which supplier the glasses might be best as they will use the type of frame which has broken.

 

[albo]

The optician which supplier the glasses might be best as they will use the type of frame which has broken.

Hi thanks,I managed to contact a company that had taken over the company that did the original glasses but they didn't even have details of mum's prescription and said they couldn't do anything,I asked a couple of the big names in town but they couldn't help.I asked another lady in another shop and she's going to play around with them and see if she can cobble anything together,mum had used that store at one time and they have got a prescription from 2011 on the system from an old pair that they provided for her

 

[Orsonkartt]

if you have a pescription I’ve used www.goggles4u.com. Cheapest I’ve ever found and all done by post

 

[nitram]

if you have a pescription I’ve used www.goggles4u.com. Cheapest I’ve ever found and all done by post

https://www.goggles4u.co.uk/ will give prices in GBP

Over 60s can get free NHS eye test, prescription can be used anywhere.
It's supposed to be one ever two years, I have one every year without any problem.

 

[albo]

I've been thinking about this today as I read about a way they can test eyes with people that can't communicate and I thought it might be worth a try. The visiting optician uses a retinoscope to look at the way the light reflects on the back of the eye and how it moves. They test this with various different lenses until they get a reaction from the light that indicates clearer vision. With this method, we can easily arrive at a prescription without the customer telling us anything.
I haven't got a health LPA though so I imagine they wont be able to do this I've only got a property and affairs LPA

 

[Jessbow]

If they are a simple presscription, i'd look for some off the peg glasses.
Pretty sure the optician can put them under his machine and tell the strength of the lenses

 

[nitram]

If they are a simple presscription, i'd look for some off the peg glasses.
Pretty sure the optician can put them under his machine and tell the strength of the lenses

For simple reading glasses you can measure the strength yourself.
The strength is measured in diopters.
Diopter is the reciprocal of the focal length in meters.
Focal length is the distance from the lens to a focused image of a distant light.
eg Focal length of 0.5m means strength of 1/.5 = 2 diopters.

 

[albo]

Thanks you @Jessbow and @nitram Mum's glasses were for general use as in she had to wear them all of the time but she no longer reads they would just be for watching the tv and looking at me and her surroundings from her bed,the glasses had a line half way across and I think the lady said were bi focals she got those when she could still walk about and possibly read so now she would be better with a plain glass I suppose.It would be interesting to see if they can gauge the strength with a machine.I left them with the lady that worked there she wasn't the actual optician but she said she would look for an arm or break them down and try and stick the lenses in any of the frames they had in the shop.I got the impression there isn't an optician there he probably just appears when an appointment has been booked and that lady is the front of house.I will ask her to speak to the actual optician next week if she hasn't already.

 

[canary]

Hello @albo

I have read the whole of the thread and there are several solutions to the problem, all of which have been referred to:

a) keep the lenses and simply change the broken side (or both sides so that they are even) to a replacement, or refit the lenses into another similar frame that they will fit into.

b) measure the power of the lenses using a focimeter (a fairly simple job) and then use this prescription to make up new glasses. this prescription can be used to make up either replacement bifocals, or just the distance prescription lenses.

c) have a complete new test using a retinoscope. Using a retinoscope (rather than more subjective tests) is a very skilled task and really requires considerable practise, so not all optometrists are willing to do it. It is usually performed on babies and young children, so it would be a good idea to find someone who is used to dealing with children. In some areas local optometrists have a contract with the local hospital to provide testing for the children in the eye clinic. If you know a young child who wears glasses find out from their parents where they go. Would you be able to get your mum to the opticians, or would you have to get someone to do a home visit?

I would guess that the person you spoke to in the opticians is a dispensing optician, which is far far more than front of house (although in smaller opticians they often double up as this). Dispensing opticians are qualified to sort out prescriptions, cut the lenses to fit the frames, make up the glasses and deal with the fit of the whole thing. They are not qualified to do the test for glasses, though - that has to be done by an ophthalmic optician/optometrist or an ophthalmologist (eye doctor). She sounded IMO a very helpful person

It all depends on how far you want to go to sort this.

 

[albo]

Hello @albo

I have read the whole of the thread and there are several solutions to the problem, all of which have been referred to:

a) keep the lenses and simply change the broken side (or both sides so that they are even) to a replacement, or refit the lenses into another similar frame that they will fit into.

b) measure the power of the lenses using a focimeter (a fairly simple job) and then use this prescription to make up new glasses. this prescription can be used to make up either replacement bifocals, or just the distance prescription lenses.

c) have a complete new test using a retinoscope. Using a retinoscope (rather than more subjective tests) is a very skilled task and really requires considerable practise, so not all optometrists are willing to do it. It is usually performed on babies and young children, so it would be a good idea to find someone who is used to dealing with children. In some areas local optometrists have a contract with the local hospital to provide testing for the children in the eye clinic. If you know a young child who wears glasses find out from their parents where they go. Would you be able to get your mum to the opticians, or would you have to get someone to do a home visit?

I would guess that the person you spoke to in the opticians is a dispensing optician, which is far far more than front of house (although in smaller opticians they often double up as this). Dispensing opticians are qualified to sort out prescriptions, cut the lenses to fit the frames, make up the glasses and deal with the fit of the whole thing. They are not qualified to do the test for glasses, though - that has to be done by an ophthalmic optician/optometrist or an ophthalmologist (eye doctor). She sounded IMO a very helpful person

It all depends on how far you want to go to sort this.

Yes the lady was a lovely person,I haven't ever had any dealings with optician shops as I don't wear spectacles myself so I wasn't sure of the dynamics of what each person does.I live in a quiet town so I was able to chat to her for half an hour about life,her own mother had dementia before she passed,so she understood what we're going through.