CONTACTS OR GLASSES, WHAT’S YOUR BEST FIT?

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Contacts or glasses? This is a question that often presents itself after an eye exam, especially the first eye exam that determines that you need help to see clearly. While there is no scientific answer in most cases as to which option will suite you best, there are some personal factors that may cause you to lean one way or the other.

Whether you choose to wear eyeglasses or contacts mostly depends on your personality and personal preferences. Factors such as lifestyle, comfort, budget, convenience and aesthetics should play a role in your choice. When making the choice, remember that one is not necessarily better than the other, each has its own list of pros and cons.

First off we want to stress that glasses are a necessity whether you choose to have contacts or just glasses. While contact users wear their contacts majority of the time, your eye will often become tired or dry. This will cause discomfort and require you to remove your contacts and wear the glasses.

Contact lenses have many advantages over glasses. Contacts sit directly on your eye, so your vision, especially your peripheral vision, is unobstructed. You can also participate in sports and activities without the fear of your glasses falling off or getting in the way.

Listed below are some advantages and disadvantages of contact lenses.

Advantages

  • Contacts don’t get in the way when playing sports.
  • Contacts typically aren’t affected by weather conditions and won’t fog up in cold weather.
  • Contacts won’t clash with what you are wearing.

Disadvantages

  • Some people have difficulty applying contact lenses to their eye.
  • Some types of contacts require lens care and cleaning each day.
  • Contacts reduce the amount of oxygen reaching the eye and can increase dry eye symptoms.

That being said, eyeglasses also offer many benefits over contact lenses. They require little cleaning and less maintenance. You also do not need to touch your eye to wear glasses which reduces the chance of you developing an eye infection. Glasses are also cheaper than contact lenses in the long run, as they do not need to be replaced nearly as often as contacts.

Listed below are some advantages and disadvantages of glasses.

Advantages

  • Reduces the need to touch your eye, reducing the chances of infection or eye irritation.
  • Eyeglasses are cheaper over the long run and don’t need replaced unless you break them.
  • Glasses provide some protection from wind, dust and debris.

Disadvantages

  • Eyeglasses sit about a half inch from your eye, which distorts peripheral vision.
  • Frames can have constant pressure on your nose and head. This can lead to headaches.
  • Some people do mot like the way that glasses look and feel that it takes away from facial features.

Due to the advances in contact lenses, most people have the ability to wear them successfully and prefer them over glasses as a primary form of vision correction. The decision as whether to wear glasses or contacts, and when to wear them is usually a matter of personal preference. It is important to remember that if you do choose contacts, it is important to have an up to date pair of glasses to wear in case you need to stop wearing contact lenses due to irritation or infection.

About the author: John D. Bissell, owner of Bissell Eye Care and Tri-State Low Vision Services, offers comprehensive eye examinations for the entire family, ocular disease detection and treatment, eye glasses, sun glasses, active wear, contact lenses, and low vision examinations for those with significant vision loss. He has undergone specialized training for treatment of low vision by the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists utilizing customized telescopic eyeglasses, prisms and telescopic implants for patients who qualify. The practice accepts most types of vision and health insurance plans.

INFECTIONS AND CONTACT LENSES

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Young man putting contact lenses at home, closeup

If you are a contact lens wearer, you have more than likely noticed how far we have come in the development of contact lenses since you started using them. Perhaps you have also been guilty of ignoring the wearing and care instructions from your optometrist. In a recent study 99% of people admitted they practiced at least one bad habit with their contact lenses and that puts them at a higher risk for eye infections.

If you are like many Americans, you have become quite accustomed to your contacts and may sometime forget you have them in. This usually leads to pushing the envelope on wearing them or leaving contacts in at times when you should not. Contaminated solutions can lead to infection. Are you changing the solution in your cases daily?

While contacts are more convenient and provide a greater range of clarity than glasses, improper handling can lead to eye infections.

Depending on the type of contact lenses you have, some of the most common misuses for contacts are:

  • Wearing contact lenses overnight while sleeping.
  • Napping while wearing lenses.
  • Nonuse of a sterile wetting solution
  • Topping off your disinfecting solution in lens storage case rather than emptying it and using new solution.
  • Using the contact lenses longer than recommended.
  • Not replacing the lens storage case at least once every 3 months.

Not surprising that of those surveyed nearly one third of respondents reported having red and or painful eye pain that resulted in a visit to the doctor.

When cleaning your contact case, allow it to fully dry after cleaning with the contact lens solution. Never use tap or sterile water to clean the lens case or contact. Mild pinkeye can be caused by solutions used for cleaning contacts. It is important to clean your contacts thoroughly to remove any virus or bacteria from the contacts after having pinkeye. If the contacts are not thoroughly cleaned, they can re-infect your eye. Do not wear contact lenses until the pinkeye is gone. Sterilize your contacts, and clean your storage case. If you wear disposable contacts, use a new pair when your eye has cleared and it is safe to wear contacts again.

Following these steps along with the recommended use from the contact lens manufacturer will help to prevent eye irritation or infection. If you do find that your eye becomes irritated be sure to take the contact lenses out immediately and use your prescription glasses. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, remove the contact lenses and consult an ophthalmologist immediately if you experience symptoms such as redness, pain, tearing, increased light sensitivity, blurry vision, discharge or swelling.

Enjoy clearer vision with contact lenses, but follow the recommendations for care and cleaning to prevent infection.

About the author: John D. Bissell, owner of Bissell Eye Care and Tri-State Low Vision Services, offers comprehensive eye examinations for the entire family, ocular disease detection and treatment, eye glasses, sun glasses, active wear, contact lenses, and low vision examinations for those with significant vision loss. He has undergone specialized training for treatment of low vision by the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists utilizing customized telescopic eyeglasses, prisms and telescopic implants for patients who qualify. The practice accepts most types of vision and health insurance plans.

ARE BIFOCAL CONTACT LENSES RIGHT FOR YOU?

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Do you have a separate pair of glasses for reading; or, do you rely on bifocals in order to see both near and far? Some people find that they struggle to read newspapers, books or menus and must hold them further away to be able to see the print better. If that is the case, it may be time to look at contacts again. Bifocal contact lenses are great for people with active lifestyles that do not want to be chained to their reading glasses.

The perception is that as your vision gets worse you must have bifocals or reading glasses but there may be a better option. There are several different types of contacts that can be used to replace your need for reading glasses or bifocals.

The main vision disorder that multifocal and bifocal lenses are used for is presbyopia – a condition that happens as we age that affects our ability to focus on objects which are near. For instance, if tasks such as threading a needle or reading your favorite book have become nearly impossible without the help of reading glasses, then you may be suffering from this condition. The doctors at Bissell Eye Care can give a proper diagnosis as well as help you find the best treatment options.

Bifocal and multifocal lenses come in both soft and rigid gas permeable materials. They also come in a hybrid form. This means that the contacts have the option to be used and disposed of at set times, and can be daily wear lenses in some cases.

What Is The Difference

Bifocal contact lenses have two different prescriptions in the same lens. They are similar to bifocal glasses where the top half is used for seeing far while the bottom is used for seeing close. A segmented bifocal, and sometimes also referred to as an alternating or translating bifocal, places the near vision prescription in the lower part of the lens. The normal, distance prescription is in the rest of the lens.

How Multifocal Contact Lenses Work

Multifocal contacts have a range of powers in each lens and are designed two different ways.

  1. Simultaneous Vision. This option is set up so your eye looks through both near and far at the same time. Your brain adapts and allows focus on either the near or far prescription depending on the distance of the object.
  2. Alternating Vision. In the alternation set up is more like a bifocal glasses design. It allows your pupil to move up or down as necessary to get the proper focus.

If you’re tired of carrying around two pair of glasses or are always searching for a pair of reading glasses, consider giving bifocal and multifocal contact lenses a try. Patients report feeling “free” of their heavy glasses, and are able to enjoy activities such as sports more easily. Those who once thought they could never benefit from contact lenses now have a second chance.

Remember that as you begin to rely on reading glasses for tasks of everyday living, that there are alternatives to the standard bifocal glasses. As technology continually finds new ways of improving vision patients realize new alternatives to seeing well into the future.

About the author: John D. Bissell, owner of Bissell Eye Care and Tri-State Low Vision Services, offers comprehensive eye examinations for the entire family, ocular disease detection and treatment, eye glasses, sun glasses, active wear, contact lenses, and low vision examinations for those with significant vision loss. He has undergone specialized training for treatment of low vision by the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists utilizing customized telescopic eyeglasses, prisms and telescopic implants for patients who qualify. The practice accepts most types of vision and health insurance plans.

IS YOUR CHILD READY FOR CONTACTS

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Children are beginning to wear glasses at a younger age than ever before.  Increased cases of overuse and eyestrain needing visual correction are being realized with the high demand and usage of technology gadgets, iPads and tablets, computers and cell phones that are used by young children.

Competitive sports add a different component in the need to see distance, increased chance of eye injury from glasses in contact sports and difficulty in seeing during inclement weather.  These factors are prompting the switch to contact lenses.

The Contact Lenses in Pediatrics (CLIP) study that was conducted found that children as young as 8 years old are capable of properly inserting, removing and caring for contact lenses and had no increased risk of contact lens-related eye problems compared with teenagers enrolled in the study.

Contact lenses have changed in their makeup and offer a variety of brands to choose from.  New materials allow for oxygen to flow to the eye and provide higher water content in lenses that add comfort in wearing them.

Cost can be another factor to consider.  Daily lenses can run as little as $2 per day.   They are worn once and then discarded.  There is no need for sterilization and storage.

Children ages 8-12 make up 40% of new contact wearers.  It’s not surprising that the switch to contacts may occur during those awkward pre-teen years where kids want to fit in and they feel glasses make them stand out in the crowd.

Children who are ready for contacts must take responsibility for their care and understand the importance of having clean hands when putting contact lenses in or taking them out.  Because it takes effort in learning how to wear and care for contact lenses, children must be willing to learn.

Bissell Eye Care works with families through the use of trial lenses to find the right fit to meet your needs.  Once we have identified the correct brand for you, then we order the contacts.  Young and old alike enjoy the freedom that contact lenses offer.

About the author:  John D.  Bissell, owner of Bissell Eye Care and Tri-State Low Vision Services, offers comprehensive eye examinations for the entire family, ocular disease detection and treatment, eye glasses, sun glasses, active wear, contact lenses, and low vision examinations for those with significant vision loss. He has undergone specialized training for treatment of low vision by the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists utilizing customized telescopic eyeglasses, prisms and telescopic implants for patients who qualify.  The practice accepts most types of vision and health insurance plans.