Heading to the USA? What Every Contact Lens Wearer Needs to Know Before You Fly
America is one of the most exciting travel destinations in the world. Whether you're counting down the days to a New York city break, a road trip through California, or a family holiday to Florida, there's so much to look forward to. But if you wear contact lenses, there's one very important thing you need to sort out before you pack your bags — and it's not something you can fix once you land.
Unlike travelling within Europe, where you can often pick up lenses quickly and easily if you run out or misplace a pair, the United States has much stricter rules around contact lens sales. Understanding this before you travel could save you a great deal of stress — and potentially a ruined holiday.
Why you can't just buy contact lenses in the US like you can at home
In the UK, if you run low on lenses while you're away, you can often order a replacement supply online and have it delivered to your hotel in a day or two — or pop into a pharmacy or optical chain with your prescription details. It's reassuringly straightforward.
The USA is a different story entirely. Contact lenses are classified as medical devices by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and it is a federal legal requirement that all sales — whether online, in store, or anywhere else — require a valid, verified prescription. This applies to every type of lens, including cosmetic and colour lenses that don't even correct your vision.
Sellers have up to eight business hours to verify your prescription with your prescribing optician. For a British tourist without a US-based eye doctor, that process is far from seamless. And if your UK prescription has expired — they typically last one to two years — you could find yourself completely stuck.
The bottom line: if you run out of lenses in New York or Los Angeles, getting a replacement pair quickly and without significant hassle is genuinely difficult. It is not like nipping to a Boots.
The golden rule: stock up before you fly
The single best thing you can do as a contact lens wearer heading to America is to make sure you have more than enough lenses to last the entire trip — plus a few days' worth as a buffer for delays, extensions, or the inevitable dropped lens.
Order early so your lenses arrive well before your departure date. Here at Lenstore, we offer fast, reliable delivery across the UK on all major brands, so there's no reason to leave this until the last minute.
If you wear daily disposables, consider switching to them for your trip if you don't already — they remove the need to carry solution, cases, and the faff of cleaning routines while you're on the go. They're also much more practical for long-haul flights.
Pack your prescription — and keep it somewhere safe
Even if you're well stocked on lenses, always travel with a copy of your current contact lens prescription. Save it to your phone, email it to yourself, and keep a paper copy in your hand luggage.
Why? In a genuine emergency — a lost bag, an unexpected medical issue, a trip extension — having your prescription details to hand is the difference between being able to get help and being completely powerless. Some US opticians and retailers like Walmart Vision and Costco Optical will sell lenses to visitors if you can present a valid, unexpired prescription, though availability of your specific brand is not guaranteed.
Your prescription should include: brand name, power (sphere), base curve, diameter, and any cylinder/axis values if you wear toric lenses. If you're not sure where to find these details, your Lenstore account holds your order history, which contains your lens parameters.
Your contact lens travel checklist for the USA
- Order enough lenses to cover your full trip plus 5–7 extra days
- Save a digital and paper copy of your prescription before you leave
- Pack lenses in both your carry-on and hold luggage — never just one bag
- Use travel-sized solution bottles (100ml or under) in your carry-on to comply with TSA liquid rules
- Bring lubricating eye drops — aircraft cabins are very dry and long-haul flights can make lens wear uncomfortable
- Pack a pair of glasses as a backup — always
- Check your prescription hasn't expired before you go
What about American contact lens wearers visiting the UK?
It works the other way too. Americans travelling to the UK or Europe have a much easier time if they run into trouble — online retailers can often deliver to hotels within a day or two, and the process is far less bureaucratic.
If you have American friends or family making the trip to the UK and they need lenses during their stay, point them our way. And if they need to stock up back home in the US before their travels, ContactsDirect — our trusted sister company in the USA — is the place to go. They carry all the major brands and offer fast delivery across the States.
A quick word on flying with lenses
Long-haul flights to the US can be brutal on contact lens wearers. Cabin air is extremely dry, and wearing lenses for a 9–11 hour flight can leave your eyes feeling irritated, gritty, and uncomfortable on arrival.
The advice from eye care professionals is simple: switch to glasses for the flight if you can, or at the very least use rewetting drops regularly and remove your lenses before you sleep. If you do wear lenses throughout, opt for daily disposables so you can start fresh when you land.
Travel smart, see the world clearly
America is a brilliant destination, and the last thing you want is your vision becoming a source of stress while you're there. A little preparation before you leave makes all the difference. Get your lenses ordered, check your prescription is in date, and pack a backup pair of glasses.
Order your full travel supply from Lenstore before you fly, and if you have American friends heading this way or you know someone over there who needs to stock up, send them to ContactsDirect — same family, same reliability, just on the other side of the Atlantic.