Contacts or Glasses? Which do you prefer and why?

The title basically says it all

Obviously this is a question just to those that have worn, or do wear both.

I recently went for another eye exam because my new glasses were giving me bad headaches. While at it, decided to also update my contacts prescription.

No question that I'll be getting my glasses redone, but I'm curious what you guys out there ended up sticking with for everyday use, and why?

I used contacts for several years and preferred them to my glasses. Especially in the winter here when my glasses would always fog up and I couldn't seen. Unfortunately last time I upgraded my prescription they said I needed some special contacts that have to be put in a certain way. No idea why lol. So for now I am just using my glasses until I figure out what that was all about.

I'm in the process of trying out new contacts right now, while a new pair of glasses is made.

For anything active, IMO there is no doubt contacts are better. As you point out they don't fog up, and they don't fall off.

What I'm having trouble with is that my vision is not quite as sharp with contacts. My eyes just don't seem to focus quite as well.

There is also the comfort issue, that I've never quite gotten over... contacts leave my eyes rather irritated.

I hope the docs can figure out what's going on with your contacts, because certainly if my vision was the same in contacts and my eyes didn't get as tired, I think I would prefer them over glasses.

As it is though, and spending a lot of time by a computer, in the long run I think I'll end up just using glasses, with contacts for special activities

Somewhat off topic here, have you ever considered LASIK?

I may have talked about this in another thread some time ago, but I'm going on something like 10 years with my surgery. I do need to wear readers for about the last year, but that has more to do with my age then issues with the surgery.

I had some issues healing afterwards, but that may have had more to do with me being a diabetic then anything I'd do it over again in a heartbeat. My vision went from something like 200/20 to 20/20 afterwards.

I've never really worn contacts because I've never been able to touch my eyes, it's just a thing I have. I like my glasses though, I think they are part of me now and I don't mind them unless they're falling off, then I hate them.

after about 4 years of wearing contacts it got to where my eyes form a filmy jello like substance around the perimeter of the lens that I could pull out by digging at the inside corner of my eyes.
I have to admit that I would leave them in real long, sometimes for a month then.
I stopped using them for about a year and went back to them for a bit while taking them
out more often, the filmy stuff came back again though.
Then it got to where when I woke up in the morning my vision would be blurred and
it would be several hours before I could focus on things close to me well, and my eyes
then began to feel scratch so I layed off them again for a bit again, a year or two.

Nowdays I use them once in a great while and usually only wear one in one eye and usually
take them out when I get home, Usually I would wear them when I "went out" .


Eventually that one eye (always the same eye) became scratchy feeling and even though it may had been months since I worn them that eye still feels scratchy and it gets watery, once a while.

Ive considered laser surgeries and might one of these days.

I would love to get lasik done, and it would work, but the problem is my eyes keep changing.

I've been advised by several doctors that while I can do it anytime, it would be best not to until I'm 30, and the changes are small enough that they would not be an issue.

Then there is the risk... with glasses my vision is almost 20/10. With contacts, it seems to be a tad worse, but still much better than 20/20. I'm kind of worried and don't want to lose that:undecided:

The biggest reason I haven't switched to contacts is definitely comfort.

@LaserCo my eyes usually start to feel scratchy after about 5 hours of wear... even though my lenses are rated for 7 day continuous wear, and are good for 1 month. After ~4 hours I start putting in regular saline eye drops. That' helps.

Likewise the only time I end up wearing contacts is when going out, or doing something active.

Really wish I had contacts when I went to vermont over new years, glasses kept fogging up under my ski goggles.

Yeah I was told I should wait until my eyes stop changing then get LASIK. I hope that happens soon. My eyes didn't seem to get irritated with the contacts, but my vision was always slightly less sharp with the contacts than the glasses. Even before my current problem.

I forgot to mention that when my eyes became scratchy and I still wore them that I became a saline junky, always carrying a small supply of saline everywhere I went, the scratchiness would make me sleepy and all it took was a few drops and I was good as new!

I have still done it, probably twice now in that eye and it has been 3.5 weeks since I wore the lens last.

2007Revolution said:

Yeah I was told I should wait until my eyes stop changing then get LASIK. I hope that happens soon. My eyes didn't seem to get irritated with the contacts, but my vision was always slightly less sharp with the contacts than the glasses. Even before my current problem.

Click to expand...

Yup, my vision in contacts just isn't quite as sharp/focused. Not a problem at all for outdoors stuff, and going out, but for reading or computer work I definitely prefer glasses. I think I'll ask the doc to try out another prescription maybe... see if that helps a bit as my most recent prescription is a tad too fuzzy for my liking.

I have to wait three more years before surgery is an option

LaserCo said:

I forgot to mention that when my eyes became scratchy and I still wore them that I became a saline junky, always carrying a small supply of saline everywhere I went, the scratchiness would make me sleepy and all it took was a few drops and I was good as new!

I have still done it, probably twice now in that eye and it has been 3.5 weeks since I wore the lens last.

Click to expand...

Lol@ saline junkie. Considering I don't go anywhere without a bottle when wearing eye drops, I suppose I qualify too

Though the benefits of contact lenses are hard to underestimate, my vote is still for glasses - I have very sensitive eyes and just cannot wear contacts for a long time, yet they are inevitable in a swimming pool, gym or during a vacation, while glasses have become part of my style.

I suspect once I get my new glasses done (they are only redoing them for the 5th time now :banghead my contacts will be relegated to the back of the medicine drawer, with the exception of special occasions.

While the new ones I'm trying out are more comfortable, and don't seem to bother my eyes nearly as much as I remembered.... I still can't focus in them quite as well, and find myself blinking a lot more.

I wore contacts for a couple of years when i was 13. It was kind of nice not having scratched up glasses to see through, but I hated putting them in every morning and dealing with my pissed off eyeballs. Since then, I have worn glasses and cant count how many times they have saved my eyes from flying debris or sparks or being flashed while welding. My glasses block UV and IR light so they are very useful when you are around someone else welding or are tack welding pieces together. Nothing worse that burning your eyeball with UV radiation.

You know, that's a good point. I often take for granted the fact that my glasses do protect my eyes. Most prescription glasses do offer some degree of protection for UV and higher IR.

Also I find that I'm much more sensitive to wind when wearing contacts.... whereas with glasses not nearly as much of a problem.

In thinking back, there have been a couple of occasion where I'm pretty sure glasses prevented serious damage.

charleytown55il said:

I wore contacts for a couple of years when i was 13. It was kind of nice not having scratched up glasses to see through, but I hated putting them in every morning and dealing with my pissed off eyeballs. Since then, I have worn glasses and cant count how many times they have saved my eyes from flying debris or sparks or being flashed while welding. My glasses block UV and IR light so they are very useful when you are around someone else welding or are tack welding pieces together. Nothing worse that burning your eyeball with UV radiation.

Click to expand...