Weighing your Options: Contacts or Glasses

Contacts vs Glasses

September 3, 2021  |  contact lenses, glasses
Graphic contains an image of a woman with two outstretched hands. In her right hand she holds a pair of eyeglasses and in her left she holds a contact lens case. Over top the image is text that reads "This or That?"

Weighing your Options: Contacts or Glasses 

 

See your Options Clearly 

If you’ve been having vision problems and your optometrist has prescribed you contacts or glasses, it’s not always readily apparent which you should choose. After all, each one can have a significant impact on your day-to-day life and if you forget your contacts or glasses, it can drastically affect your abilities and even your performance at work or school. 

 

Both contacts and glasses bring advantages and disadvantages, and it is important to consider how each will impact your lifestyle before choosing which is right for you.  

 

This post will briefly go over the pros and cons of each option so you can decide which choice suits you best. 

 

First Contact

At first, contacts can seem like the more attractive option. Most people associate glasses with bookworms and feel they will make them less attractive. But this is not always the case, and the right pair of frames can enhance your looks. 

 

Here are some of the advantages of contact lenses: 

 

  • Contact lenses will leave your peripheral vision untouched  
  • Contacts go more easily with an active lifestyle 
  • Contacts conform to the curvature of your eye for a comfortable fit 
  • Won’t clash with your clothes and do not affect your style 
  • Contacts won’t fog up from cold weather or get splattered by rain 
  • Specialty contact lenses can reshape your cornea while you sleep 
  • You can order specialty lenses to try out a different eye color 

 

Now that we’ve covered the advantages, here are some disadvantages to contact lenses: 

 

  • Can be expensive over time due to the amount you have to replace them 
  • Contacts can be difficult and uncomfortable to apply (but this should cease to be a problem with proper practice). 
  • Require daily sanitation to make sure you don’t get an eye infection 

 

A new Frame on Life 

While it’s true that contact lenses won’t change the way you look, they won’t improve it either. Some glasses wearers find that their frames become a significant part of their fashion identity and they don’t like their appearance without them. With that being said, here are some advantages to wearing glasses: 

 

  • You don’t have to touch your eyeball to put them on 
  • Glasses are cheaper in the long run as they don’t have to be replaced as often (unless you break them) 
  • Certain lenses can adjust the amount of light that enters your eye (photochromatic lenses) 
  • Glasses can make a great addition to your style, and they come in many different colors and varieties 
  • Glasses won’t exacerbate dry eye symptoms 
  • They protect your eye from wind, dust, and other miscellaneous debris 

 

Appealing as glasses can be to those who don’t want to worry about the cost and responsibility of contacts, here are some disadvantages glasses bring: 

 

  • Frames can obstruct your peripheral vision 
  • Lenses can easily fog up, especially in the winter 
  • Frames that are too tight can put pressure on the head and face and give their wearer headaches 

 

Look to the Future

It’s not always easy deciding between glasses and contacts. Many who choose one option later go on to find they like the other better. While it’s never too late to change, it can be costly to switch back and forth between the two options.  

 

If you are struggling to decide between contacts and glasses, stop by Family Vision Care and let their experts lend their opinion. Additionally, if you are struggling with worsening vision, make an appointment with Dr. Jeffery Collins at Family Vision Care. He has been practicing since 1989 and is eager to lend you his three decades of expertise.