Contact Lenses vs. Glasses: What’s Best for Your Eyes?

HVA • 4 days ago

Most people who do not have 20/20 vision have two vision correction options to correct their sight – contacts and lenses. Both of these options are valid for healthy eyes and correct nearsightedness or farsightedness. However, there has always been a long debate about contact lenses vs glasses and which is better for your eyes.

Short answer: It is your personal decision.

Long answer: there are pros and cons of both contact lenses and glasses and how they affect your eye health and comfort. So, let’s break them down one by one.

Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are thin, clear, and round soft or hard plastics that rest on the surface of your eyes. Contacts are one of the best vision correction options as they correct refractive errors such as;

· Farsightedness or hyperopia

· Nearsightedness or myopia

· Astigmatism

· Age-related farsightedness or presbyopia.

While there are many types of contact lenses, an eye specialist recommends the best one for your eyes based on the;

· Lens material

· Special features

· Eye health and comfort

· Lifestyle requirements.

You can either wear your contact lenses daily or during extended periods.

Daily wear contact lenses are only worn during the day. You have to take these lenses out before you go to bed. Eye specialists warn against the use of contacts during sleep as it can lead to eye infection.

Extended-wear contact lenses can be worn both day and night. You can wear them while you sleep and even leave them in your eyes for up to 30 days. Your provider will evaluate which type of contact lens is better for your eyes and how long you can wear them.

So, if you are using daily disposable contact lenses, throw them out at night, or if you are wearing monthly disposables, clean and disinfect them every day before bed and throw them out after 30 days.

Glasses

Eyeglasses are the most common form of vision correction and offer the highest level of eye health and comfort to every age group. Eyeglasses correct the same type of refractive errors as contact lenses; however, they are also used to treat other conditions like;

· Double vision or diplopia

· Strabismus or crossed eyes

· Amblyopia or lazy eye

· Light sensitivity or photophobia

· Anisometropia (asymmetric refraction in the eyes).

Children, especially, find it difficult to wear and manage contact lenses, and with a surge in pediatric myopia, almost all of them wear glasses instead of contacts.

Contact Lenses Vs Glasses: Personal Style And Lifestyle Choices

The first thing that matters when choosing between contact lenses and glasses is your personal style and lifestyle choices.

Note that when we talk about lenses, we are only referring to soft lenses. Hard lenses are a special type of contact lenses that are used for different eye conditions, like keratoconus.

The majority of the people who wear contacts wear soft lenses. When gauging your eyewear pros and cons, consider your lifestyle and comfort preferences as well as how much time and effort you are willing to put into maintaining your eye health and comfort. For example;

With Contact lenses;

· If you are wearing monthly disposables, you have to store them in a disinfectant solution overnight, daily for 30 days, and then discard them.

· You have to make sure that your hands are super clean when putting them in or taking them out.

· With bi-weekly disposables, you have to throw your contact lenses away after every two weeks.

· Contact lenses are great for sports and workouts as there is no chance of them slipping or popping out of your eyes.

· It is best not to sleep in with contact lenses unless they're approved for overnight wear, as they can dry out your eyes or cause infections.

· Contact lenses also offer a wider field of vision as compared to glasses.

With Glasses;

· You can’t wear glasses while lying down or during intense physical activity. Either they will slide off or get in the way of your activities.

· Glasses are very low-maintenance. No need for solutions or storage cases.

· Smudges are inevitable when you are wearing glasses.

· They need regular cleaning to stay clear and scratch-free.

· You don’t need to have clean hands to put on glasses.

· Glasses may need adjustments when they get bent out of shape.

· Glasses are cheaper and more suitable as a long-term vision correction option. If your vision stays the same, you don’t even have to change them often.

Contact Lenses Vs. Glasses: The Difference Between Them

| Contact Lenses | Glasses
| Contact lenses are difficult to wear, remove, and maintain. | Glasses are easy to put on and don’t require a lot of maintenance.
| There are a variety of colors to fit your style. | Glasses come in a variety of frame shapes and colors.
| You have to clean your hands to touch your eyes. | You don’t have to wash your hands to wear your glasses.
| Contact lenses do not distort vision at the edges. | Glasses distort vision at the edge of the frame.
| You can easily see in the far periphery of your vision. | It is hard to see the sides of your vision if the frame isn’t right.
| Contact lenses are great if you do not like your appearance in glasses. | Some people may feel uncomfortable when wearing glasses, especially in public.
| Contact lenses are the best choice for rainy activities or sports activities. | Glasses fog up or slide due to sweat and get splattered in the rain as well.
| Contacts, when rotated, may give blurry vision to patients with high astigmatism. | Glasses are less likely to move around and offer a stable vision to people with astigmatism.
| It takes some time to get used to contact lenses. | It doesn’t take much time to get used to wearing eyeglasses.

For both veterans and novices, the proper use of contacts and glasses should be a top priority. If you want to know which vision correction option is best for your eyes, talk to your provider, as they can offer the most professional advice. For access to information, products, and services for your eye health concerns, visit Healthy Vision Association.