Contact lenses and eyeglasses help correct refractive errors or vision problems. They are ideal options for many people who need to improve their eye health and vision. However, choosing between the two can be a challenging task.

Here is more information on contacts and glasses to help you decide what is suitable.

Advantages of Contact Lenses

Most people love how contact lenses do not affect their appearance while correcting and improving their vision. They are ideal for outdoor and sporting activities compared to eyeglasses. Users can adapt to quickly wearing and removing them. Contact lenses are also comfortable to wear.

You can wear contact lenses for up to one week. There are also FDA-approved contacts that wearers can use for up to a month or 30 days. You can dispose of some contacts daily without the need to clean or care for them after use.

Contact lenses do not affect vision by getting dirt or fogging up. They cannot block your peripheral vision like wearing glasses.

Disadvantages of Contact Lenses

Contact lenses increase the risk of eye infection. Statistics show that one in 500 people who wear contacts develop severe eye infections annually, leading to permanent vision loss. Most individuals were advised to switch from wearing contacts to eyeglasses during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the need to touch their eyes frequently.

• Contacts require frequent renewals and checkups.
• Contacts can be more costly eventually, compared to eyeglasses.
• People with sensitive or dry eyes can feel uncomfortable with contact lenses.
• Inadequate hygiene or cleaning can cause inflammation, irritation, and infections.

Advantages of Eyeglasses

Wearing eyeglasses has various pros. They are relatively cheap, easy, and quick to help improve your vision. You also do not have to touch your eyes, so your risk of developing eye infections is low compared to individuals who wear contact lenses. You can change your look and style as often as you want due to the wide variety of eyeglass frames available.
 

Eyeglasses do not need much cleaning and care like contact lenses. You also reduce your risk for eyestrain due to the protective coating on the glasses to help your eyes remain healthy when you work on your computer. You can protect your eyes from UV rays by wearing prescription 

sunglasses.

Disadvantages of Eyeglasses

Below are some of the disadvantages of eyeglasses:

• Eyeglasses block or affect peripheral vision.
• Designer eyeglasses are expensive.
• Outdoor or sporting activities can make the lenses dirty or fog up.
• Some individuals do not like how they look with eyeglasses.
• Eyeglasses can get lost or damaged.

Choosing Between Contact Lenses and Glasses

Most individuals who wear contact lenses and eyeglasses depend on them for improved vision. Consider your lifestyle, comfort, and hobbies when deciding between the two. Cost also plays a significant role in the decision you make. 

For example, if you are often very active, contact lenses are best as they do not fog up. However, they can make your eyes more susceptible to infections. Eyeglasses are more cost-effective to get. They are also not hard to wear compared to contacts. However, they are easy to misplace and break.

Alternatively, you can choose to alternate between contact lenses and eyeglasses. Doing so can help give your eyes a break. However, it all depends on your personal preferences.

For more about contact lenses and glasses, visit Green Eye Care at our New York, New York office. Call (332) 334-8700 to schedule an appointment today.