Contact Lenses vs Glasses

The million dollar question, contact lenses or glasses?

Ultimately, the choice boils down to personal preference because both do exactly the same job and serve the same purpose. Let us examine the pros and cons for each…

Physical Appearance

More often than not, the decision can highly be influenced by the way they look on an individual. You can purchase contact lenses that represent the same colour as your eyes and thus retain your look. Certain people therefore prefer to invest in contact lenses as they feel wearing glasses can take away some of their best facial features and aesthetics, especially if they are on a strong prescription and have a thick lens. On the other hand, glasses can be used as a fashion accessory owing to a range of well-designed frames that can give you an entirely new look, if you want a change! Contacts are not completely restricted, you can always invest in colour lenses to see how you’d look with a different eye colour.

Durability

Glasses are much more durable than contact lenses. Glasses only need to be changed if you happen to break the frame, crack the lens or require different lens due to changes to your prescription. Contacts, however, need replacing daily, weekly, monthly or yearly depending on the prescription. In addition, contact lenses are susceptible to damage because they need to be taken off every night before bed. Contacts demand proper TLC on a daily basis including cleaning and replacing. If you cannot commit to this effort then contacts are not for you and you’re better off investing in glasses.

Practicality

Your profession and lifestyle can also determine your choice. Good quality contact lenses are not affected by external conditions such as the weather and do not get in the way when exercising or playing sports. Understandably, glasses will become foggy in cold conditions whilst lenses and frames can get damaged if you leave them lying around in hot temperatures. If you heavily rely on your glasses and are an active individual, it can therefore become a hindrance. In other cases, glasses can cause discomfort and even headaches owing to pressure placed on the nose and behind the ears. Having said that when you’re wearing glasses you can’t forget that they’re on, which isn’t the case with contacts. If you accidentally fall asleep without removing contacts, your eyes can become dry, irritated and red. This can be mitigated by choosing to invest in continuous wear lenses.

Price

Glasses are a cheaper investment in the long term because of the unlikelihood of having to change them. Contacts require regular investments and therefore are considered pricier of the two. Overall, you have to assess which is a more practical investment rather than basing your decision solely on price. For example, if you’re an engineer and are required to wear safety goggles on a daily basis, it’s probably not the best idea to get glasses that need to be worn daily too.

Health

Glasses and lenses can cause further debilitation to your allergies or health conditions, which is dependent on what you suffer from. Let us take two common examples.

• Hay fever: If you suffer from hay fever and get itchy eyes during the summer months, having contact lenses on can cause further discomfort. On the other hand glasses can potentially improve your condition by limiting the amount of dust and pollen that get into your eyes.
• Migraines: Glasses can amplify migraines in frequent sufferers due to the pressure frames place on the nose and behind the ear. In this case, lenses are a better option.

Choosing between contact lenses and glasses may not be an easy decision as first thought. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration. Your eye health is very important and if you’re still unsure, pop down to your local opticians in South Harrow and we’ll explain the options that work best for you.