Contacts Versus Glasses

For a large amount of the population, eye glasses or contact lenses are a fact of life. When deciding between the two, it is important to choose the one that is best for your lifestyle and for the health of your eyes. Both sides have their advantages and disadvantages, and having both is usually the best way to go. Since having both is cost-prohibitive for many, you should make sure that the choice you make is the right one.

Contacts have the obvious advantage of hiding in the eye. If wearing glasses isn't your style, than contacts will fix your vision without hurting your appearance. Sitting on the eye also has the benefit of covering your entire field of vision. Unlike glasses, contacts won't leave your peripheral vision blurry.

Sitting in the eye also has many downsides that vary a lot from person to person. For some, the contacts will irritate the eyes very badly, and the lenses will have to be worn for just a few hours at a time until the eyes get used to them. For others, the putting in and taking out the contacts will be extremely difficult and irritating to the eyes. People with eye allergies will find that uncomfortable reactions are made worse by contact lenses.

For those who can comfortably wear contacts, more problems arise when people wear them for too long. Most soft contacts must be taken out every night and cleaned. Sleeping without taking them out is much worse for the eyes than most realize.

Keeping lenses in overnight has two immediate affects that the wearer will not notice. First, the contact will begin to make an imprint of itself where it sits in the eye. Second, the contact will cut down on the amount of oxygen that reaches the eye underneath it. This causes blood vessels to grow into the colored part of the eye, where they do not normally grow. There is also a variety of infections, some quite severe, that can take hold when the contacts are not cleaned.

In extreme cases, the eye can actually grow around the lens. When this happens, surgical removed of the contact is required.

While glasses have none of these health risks, they are not without their downsides. Glasses can be uncomfortable and are sometimes considered unattractive. Smaller glasses, which are usually considered more fashionable, leave the area around them impaired. It is also rather difficult to wear sunglasses over a pair of eyeglasses.

The cost of contacts and glasses varies depending on the person, the frames and lenses of the glasses, and the type of contacts used. Glasses are more expensive to get started, because both the lenses and the frames will have to be purchased at once. Once you have the frames, replacement lenses will cost between $100 and $150 for the pair.

Contact lenses vary wildly in price. They can almost always be bought online cheaper than from the eye doctor. Expect about $150 for a six month supply of disposable contacts.

For younger people whose prescription changes often, contacts and glasses are closer in price. Since the lens prescription will change with every yearly eye exam, new eyeglass lenses will have to be purchased every year. For those whose prescription remains constant, glasses will be much cheaper over time.

Contact lenses offer a lot of advantages over glasses. They are far more convenient, and you don't have to worry as much about them falling off (which is not to say they never do) or getting lost. However, they do require a bit more work to keep them healthy, and they are more expensive than glasses. For those who can afford it, having both is by far the best option. For those who cannot afford the expense, be sure to choose the one that best fits your lifestyle. If you are not willing to spend the time to take contacts out every night, stick with glasses. Your eyes, and in turn your wallet, will thank you with their continued good health.