Your personal preferences primarily determine your choice of eyeglasses or contact lenses. Taking into account lifestyle, comfort, convenience, budget, and aesthetics is essential in the decision-making process. Before choosing between contacts or glasses, you should keep in mind that each has its own advantages and disadvantages based on vision, ease of use, and eye health.
There are many advantages to wearing eyeglasses over contact lenses. Since they don’t need to be replaced as often as contact lenses, glasses require little cleaning and maintenance and don’t require touching your eyes. Furthermore, they are cheaper than contact lenses over the long run since they don’t require much maintenance.
Furthermore, glasses can do something that contact lenses cannot–they can adjust the amount of light entering your eye for top comfort and vision. For example, photochromic lenses are clear indoors and at night and darken automatically under sunlight so that you can see clearly in any light. Unlike some contact lenses that block some UV light from entering the eye, photochromic eyeglass lenses block 100 percent UV light and protect not just the eye inside but also the outside and lids.
You can also use glasses to make a fashion statement and show off your personality!
Despite this, contact lenses have several advantages over glasses. Contact lenses sit directly on your eye, so you have unobstructed vision, especially in the peripheral vision area. You can even participate in sports and outdoor activities without having to worry about your eyeglasses falling off or breaking–and if you want, you can modify the color of your eyes with color contact lenses.
So which would be best for your lifestyle and needs? Glasses or contacts? For your convenience, here is a breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of eyewear.
Pros and Cons of Eyeglasses
Pros
- If you wear glasses, you are less likely to touch your eyes, which reduces the chances of irritating or infecting your eyes.
- Glasses can’t aggravate dry or sensitive eyes as contact lenses can.
- Over the long run, glasses are generally less expensive than contact lenses. Unless you break them, you don’t need to replace your glasses as often, and if your prescription changes over time, you might be able to keep your current frames and just replace the lenses.
- You can express yourself through your frames – the look of your glasses will speak volumes about you.
- Glasses provide some protection against elements such as wind, dust, and debris.
Cons
- The distance between your eyeglasses and your eyes is about 12mm (about a half-inch), so peripheral vision can be distorted.
- In addition to trouble focusing on objects, many people report blurry vision when they first wear glasses or change prescriptions.
- Some frames can cause headaches and general discomfort because they exert constant pressure on your nose and behind your ears.
- Some people dislike wearing glasses because they feel it detracts from their facial aesthetics or hides their features.
- A strong prescription might leave the edges of your lenses thick and unattractive, or your glasses might make your eyes appear unnaturally magnified or minimized.
- You may experience obstructed or blurred vision when your glasses fog up due to rain collecting on the lenses or when they become foggy.
Pros and Cons of Contact Lenses
Pros
- Unlike eyeglasses, contact lenses conform to your eye’s curvature, allowing for a broader field of vision and causing fewer vision distortions.
- Contact lenses don’t interfere with your vision when you play sports or exercise.
- They won’t clash with whatever you’re wearing.
- Contact lenses are typically not affected by weather and will not fog up in cold weather like glasses.
- You can experiment with colored contact lenses to see what you would look like with a different eye color. There are even special-effect contacts that match Halloween and fancy dress costumes!
Cons
- Some people have difficulty applying a contact lens to their eyes (though proper technique and practice will usually solve this problem).
- Your eyes receive less oxygen when you wear contacts, which can contribute to or worsen the severity of dry eye syndrome.
- Contact lenses can trigger computer vision syndrome if you use a computer often.
- Contact lenses need to be properly cleaned and cared for every day to prevent eye infections. Consider daily disposables if you cannot follow the recommended replacement cycle for your contact lenses.
- If you fall asleep while wearing daily wear contacts, your eyes will likely be dry, gritty, red, and irritated when you wake up. If you constantly fall asleep with your contacts in, consider extended wear contacts – some extended wear contacts are approved for continuous wear for as long as 30 days.
So What Should You Choose? Contact Lenses, Eyeglasses, or Both?
The advancements in contact lens technology have made it possible for most people to wear contacts even if they prefer to wear glasses most of the time. In other words, whether to wear contacts or glasses is usually a matter of personal preference.
However, contact lens wearers should also keep an up-to-date pair of glasses on hand in case they need to stop wearing contacts temporarily due to an eye infection or irritation or if they simply want to give their eyes a break from lenses.
Let us help you decide!
Before getting your hands on contacts or glasses, you should ensure your eyes are healthy with a comprehensive eye exam at Larkfield Optical, where your health is our top priority. We have over 20 years of experience, we have offered expert eye exams and stylish eyewear for every budget. Our online scheduler lets you choose the best time for your appointment, or you can call us at (631) 368-2020
