You have been wearing spectacles for quite a while now. But nowadays does it seem to bother you? A sudden jerk and your glasses keep falling off? Dozing at your desk and suddenly your glasses fall off waking you from your beautiful slumber and interrupting your day dreams? Are you sick and tired of your spectacles and wish to find an alternative to put an end to this problem of yours? You might be thinking of wearing contact lenses and ditch your glasses for the very last time but you should take some time to decide whether you want to completely switch over to wearing contact lenses from eyeglasses or not.
Both, contact lenses and spectacles are different from each other and have their advantages and disadvantages as well. Depending upon how and why you use it will clear up which one is more suitable for you and your needs. While contact lenses are therapeutic and corrective type of lenses that are placed on the cornea of your eye, spectacles frames contain glass or plastic lenses worn in front of your eye and balances itself with the help of the bridge of your nose. Before deciding on which one is better, do keep in mind that contact lenses are a completely different thing with its own set of advantages and disadvantages just like any other product.
Difference Between Contact Lenses and Spectacles
1: Cleaning and Taking Care
Lenses need to be immersed in a lens care solution when not in use or else they will dry up and will not be of any use anymore. Not only that, you will have to replace them from time to time otherwise they would just lose their functionality. On the other hand, spectacles are quite easy to take care of and you only need to wipe off the dust and grime in front of the lenses and they are ready to be used. You need to replace glasses only if there is an increase or decrease in the eye power or you break it or even misplace it.
2. The Way they are Worn
Contact lenses are worn right on the eye so they take the shape of the curvature of your eyes, hence they cause less vision distortions and give you the natural vision that you would normally see if you did not have vision problems. On the other hand, spectacles are worn over your eyes, they naturally cause distortions in your vision as they are at a distance from your eyes. Hence your side vision is completely out of question and that is a major reason why people involved in sports wear contact lenses during their games. Contact lenses help you see a completely unobstructed side view.
3. Comfort
For people who do not like to carry around the weight of their spectacles, it is advisable for them to shift to contact lenses because they are practically weightless. However as technology progresses, lighter lenses are making their way into the market for people who want to wear spectacles.
4. Climate
Spectacles tend to fog up if there is a detectable temperature change in your surroundings temporarily blinding you but there is no such problems with contact lenses as they are right on your cornea. Same goes for spectacles when it is raining or snowing. Whenever it is raining water droplets seem to stick to your glass or plastic lenses causing blurred vision and ultimately taking off your glasses is the only solution that you are left with.
5. Cost
Depending upon the type of contact lenses your doctor has prescribed you with, the overhead cost might be more than your spectacles. The main reason for this is simply because you are buying your spectacles online once in a while. While in the case of contact lenses you have to keep replacing them month after month and your total bill will run into a lot of money.
6. Experimentation
If you always wanted to have a different eye colour, you can now do that with contact lenses. You can now buy a specialized range of colored contact lenses that will grant you an eye colour of your choice. You will not be able to get the same effect in case of spectacles but you can experiment with spectacles as well. You can buy different kinds of funky spectacle frames for men of different colours and make it a fashion statement if you want to.
7. Safety
It is advised not to wear contact lenses while sleeping because you will wake up in the morning with dry and gritty eyes along with redness. However new types of lenses are coming up for such forgetful people so that they do not damage their eyes. Not only that contact lenses actually reduce the amount of oxygen that should reach your eyes. Wearing contacts will make you prone to more eye infections as well if you do not keep them clean or touch them with dirty hands. On the other hand, spectacles provide a cover for your eyes and reduce the probability of you touching your eyes. They also stop any kind of debris from entering your eye.
So depending upon your needs, you can choose which one is best for you!
Image Credits: campuspecs.co.nz, igolenses.com, i1.allaboutvision.com