Is the lens grinding process more complicated or is there just too much variation in eyesight to make them feasible on a mass scale?
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Optometrist here:
Lots of interesting replies that are semi-close but missing the mark a bit.
It’s *actually* a public health issue! And we live in a seriously litigious society. If you ever get into a serious enough car accident to be injured or injure someone else, one of the things that gets subpoenaed is your ocular health history to determine if you’re somehow at fault for not getting your vision checked.
Eyeballs are kind of unique organs in that they can have VERY serious problems wrong with them without symptoms. Things like glaucoma for example, tumors, holes, tears, detachments…basically, the eye doesn’t always hurt when there’s a problem.
Something very unique to the US is we’re a big country with a very poor public transportation system. Pretty much everything about our infrastructure depends on people *having a car and license to drive*. And it’s more than just seeing far, it’s also your visual field.
Tying all this together with health: Only optometrists and ophthalmologists (primary care eye doctors with an Doctor of Optometry Degree and eye surgeons who are Medical Doctors that completed a competitive residency in Ophthalmology) are legally permitted to sign off on DMV vision forms. And we are the ones that basically are not just responsible for making sure your glasses prescription is correct, but *making sure your eyeball is healthy*.
Basically, we don’t want people avoiding going to the eye doctor thinking that because they picked up some glasses that helped them see better…and accidentally killed/maimed someone while driving because they had untreated/undiagnosed glaucoma or the glasses actually didn’t correct them enough to be legal to drive.
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