Are Contact Lenses Better Than Glasses?
When your eyesight starts to change, you’ll need to correct this by either wearing contact lenses or choosing glasses. Many people opt for the convenience of contact lenses, but are contact lenses better than glasses? Here’s everything you need to know. The simple answer to the question ‘are contact lenses better than glasses?’ is that there is no right or wrong answer! It very much depends on personal preferences. While one person might argue contact lenses are better, another may prefer to wear glasses. Essentially, factors such as lifestyle, work, comfort, budget and aesthetics all come into play when making your decision.
Contact Lenses Are Better
There are many people who swear by wearing contact lenses, and wouldn’t choose anything else. These people argue that contact lenses are much more convenient to wear than glasses, and don’t get in the way or fall off, especially when performing certain activities such as sports.
Because contact lenses sit right on the eye, unlike glasses, this means that they have the advantage of providing a wider field of vision without any distortions or obstructions.
Contact lenses also won’t fog up or cause visual problems like glasses can during cold, hot or very steamy conditions. For those people who work in environments where glasses will easily fog up or need to wear face masks regularly, contact lenses are a much more convenient solution than glasses.
From an aesthetic point of view, some people feel that glasses don’t suit their face shape, or they might not want to wear glasses for a particular occasion. If you have a strong prescription, you might also feel self-conscious wearing glasses, although there are many comfortable frame and lens designs available in our practices. In each of these cases, choosing contact lenses may be a better choice.
Contact Lenses Aren’t Better Than Glasses
One thing for certain is that contact lenses require more of a commitment than glasses, in terms of keeping them clean. This is especially important as getting an eye infection is a real possibility if lenses aren’t as clean as they should be.
Therefore, if you don’t have the time to commit to looking after contact lenses, you may prefer to stick to wearing glasses. There are reduced risks of eye infection from wearing glasses, as you don’t need to touch your eyes to put glasses on or take them off.
Some people also find putting contact lenses in a bit fiddly, although a good optician will be able to show you how this is done before you leave the store with your new lenses.
Because of the commitment required to look after contact lenses, and the extra expense compared to glasses, you may prefer to stick to wearing glasses if you only need to wear them for some of the time, such as for reading only. On the other hand, if you need to wear glasses all the time, for near and far vision, driving, etc, contact lenses may be more convenient all around.
Choose Both?
Many people like the best of both worlds and have both contact lenses and glasses for different occasions. This makes good sense and gives you greater flexibility in what to wear. Make sure to keep on top of regular eye test appointments to ensure your prescriptions are up to date, and to discuss both contact lenses and glasses options with an optician in Cardigan based.