Definitely glasses. Get RX sunglasses rather than Transitions.
Glasses vs Contacts
- Thread starter ByMyBeard
- Start date
Long story story----my luck handed me a power tripping B#tch at the DMV who forced the glasses issue. At the next renewal the person giving the eye test questioned it and promptly removed the requirement. I could see slightly better with glasses, so I wore transition glasses for a while. I then switched to contacts for a while, and then back to clear glasses. I only wear glasses while driving at night because of the huge number of deer in my area. I only got my last pair of glasses because work paid for them. I just wanted some impact rated prescription glasses---which I have never worn LOL.
I don't know about newer glasses, but the older transitions reacted to UV light which is blocked by most car windshields today. Keep that in mind. You may need prescription sunglasses for driving in bright sun shine.
I'd vote glasses---one time purchase just like your razor.
I don't know about newer glasses, but the older transitions reacted to UV light which is blocked by most car windshields today. Keep that in mind. You may need prescription sunglasses for driving in bright sun shine.
I'd vote glasses---one time purchase just like your razor.
More than 50 years with corrected vision. Use both contacts and glasses. Folks are either far sighted or near sighted. The op describes some decline in far vision.
The eyes require time to adjust to wearing contact lenses. Usually a few weeks to adjust to less oxygen reaching the eye and just having something in your eye. Contacts are great for sports and many on the go activities. Given your eyes change wearing contacts might also require a pair of reading glasses. Maybe.
Glasses are mostly straight forward. The current generation of transition lenses while not cheap are great. They change quickly and recover quickly. You might have to remove the glasses to read. Maybe.
Best to have a spare pair of glasses if you need them to drive, etc. Contact lenses up the risk for eye infections and most folks experience this from time to time. A timely visit to the eye doctor for medicated drops usually fixes the issue in a week time though some infections can be vision threatening. Best to keep the hands clean and avoid touching the eyes. Glasses are required during these times as the contacts cannot be worn.
I strongly advise against the 24 hour lenses. Do not sleep with lenses in place.
So the answer to the question isn't either one or the other. The answer is glasses only, or glasses and contacts.
The eyes require time to adjust to wearing contact lenses. Usually a few weeks to adjust to less oxygen reaching the eye and just having something in your eye. Contacts are great for sports and many on the go activities. Given your eyes change wearing contacts might also require a pair of reading glasses. Maybe.
Glasses are mostly straight forward. The current generation of transition lenses while not cheap are great. They change quickly and recover quickly. You might have to remove the glasses to read. Maybe.
Best to have a spare pair of glasses if you need them to drive, etc. Contact lenses up the risk for eye infections and most folks experience this from time to time. A timely visit to the eye doctor for medicated drops usually fixes the issue in a week time though some infections can be vision threatening. Best to keep the hands clean and avoid touching the eyes. Glasses are required during these times as the contacts cannot be worn.
I strongly advise against the 24 hour lenses. Do not sleep with lenses in place.
So the answer to the question isn't either one or the other. The answer is glasses only, or glasses and contacts.
- Thread starter
- #24
Thanks - I'll message you!
There are some really spot on informative comments in this thread. I am impressed! But I would say that I 100 % agree with Phil. I have worn glasses since I was about 22 years old. For a time in there, say from the age of 25 or so through, maybe 32, I wore contacts. But it was in a time when the thought was one could wear soft lens for 30 days at a time. That kind of worked, but I do not think anyone thinks it is okay to wear contacts day after day, sleeping with them inserted, etc. anymore. When I started needing bifocals and seemed to develop astigmatism, contacts did not seem to perform very well at all. Then later when I tried to go back to contacts to wear intermittently I guess as mostly a vanity thing although they helped for certain sports things like wearing a scuba mask, my eyes seemed to have gotten to dry to wear any kind of contacts for any extended length of time. To me bifocals seem easy enough to adjust to. I do not want to bother carrying around reading glasses and bifocal contacts just do not seem to work. Phil is certainly right about transitional lenses being very advanced these days. So for me, anyway, glasses perform better, are a whole lot less hassle, and avoid this dry eye problem I seem to have developed. Except for vanity sake, I cannot see bothering with contacts myself. YMMV.
I meant to say that as to cost, it is true that many eye glasses are extraordinarily expensive for what they are. My understanding is this is because almost all eye glass manufacturing down to retail stores is controlled by one firm. A pretty extraordinary situation. And I admit that I carry good optical insurance and pretty much pay an outlandish price for my glasses. But I get exactly what I want and wear them pretty much constantly for years at a time, so the day to day cost is not so high. But outfits like Warby Parker seem much more fairly priced and the quality of there products in my experience very good.
In the 1970's,
I saw a guy on his hands and knees
looking for his contacts in the men's room at a Grateful Dead concert
and after that, I knew I could never get contacts.
I saw a guy on his hands and knees
looking for his contacts in the men's room at a Grateful Dead concert
and after that, I knew I could never get contacts.
On the other hand, in over 40 years of contact wearing I have never lost a lens.
I only wear Readers, they are perfect to overcome my poor eyesight to read.
61 now and 52 of those years have been with corrective lenses. I've used and enjoyed contacts for a long period (the clarity at night time was astounding) but found I prefer the ease of using spectacles. In the last decade I've moved into the bifocal era and now have both progressive and traditional bifocal glasses (benefits for each type).
Nor did I.
One exception being a late night drunken visit to a McDonalds in Honolulu, but it was entirely my fault, and completely avoidable.
- Thread starter
- #32
So, a quick update (as if anyone is interested...)
I have a pair of RX glasses and sunglasses on order. It's a good thing I waited for the input of SWMBO, as she prefers looking at me with something completely different on my face than I had imagined. I think I felt rushed into a choice before, and am excited to get the glasses we picked out together.
I also have a trial pair of contacts available. They aren't currently in, as the process of learning to put them in and take them out still had my right eye a bit red this morning. Now I need to figure out what all I need to keep with me in the event of a contact "emergency".
I'll probably be going back and forth a bit as I learn which solution I prefer. I will say that I was shocked at how little I noticed the contacts once they were in. I actually thought I dropped one rather than being successful at getting it in my eyes. I may need to put a note somewhere in the bathroom that I can't read without them, but can with them as a way to confirm with myself I did it right.
I have a pair of RX glasses and sunglasses on order. It's a good thing I waited for the input of SWMBO, as she prefers looking at me with something completely different on my face than I had imagined. I think I felt rushed into a choice before, and am excited to get the glasses we picked out together.
I also have a trial pair of contacts available. They aren't currently in, as the process of learning to put them in and take them out still had my right eye a bit red this morning. Now I need to figure out what all I need to keep with me in the event of a contact "emergency".
I'll probably be going back and forth a bit as I learn which solution I prefer. I will say that I was shocked at how little I noticed the contacts once they were in. I actually thought I dropped one rather than being successful at getting it in my eyes. I may need to put a note somewhere in the bathroom that I can't read without them, but can with them as a way to confirm with myself I did it right.
Ditto, though on several occasions I've lost one IN my eye.
I also am a 40 year wearer of contacts, since I was at the Utah Shakespeare Festival (a young Benjamin Bratt was there that year) and couldn't go on stage with glasses. On occasion over the years I would go back to glasses but found it was like looking through an ice cube, especially outside, so it never lasted beyond a few hours. In recent years (10 or so) they've corrected for distance and I wear readers, though I often manage (with some difficulty) without them because I either forgot or misplaced them. In bed at night I'll always go without contacts or glasses to read or do crosswords.
I'm 54 and have worn glasses since 10th grade. I always wanted to try contacts but was too afraid in regards to digging in my eye to take them off and on. I can't imagine doing that.
- Thread starter
- #35
Obviously I'm new to this whole thing, but that was my main fear as well. I even have a hard time watching the videos they made me watch showing how to put in and (ESPECIALLY) how to take them out. Though I will say the process was less scary than I imagined once I actually tried it. I did find it easier for me to pull the lens down some before removing it. YMMV. Though also, if I'd worn glasses for almost 40 years, I think I'd just stick with them.
Interesting thread. My story may help others who are pondering contact lenses and may have heard tales of woe or worse….I’m 63 and have severe myopia and mild astigmatism in each eye (double digit correction in each eye). I’ve worn glasses since age 7 and started wearing contact lenses at age 14. So, 56 years wearing glasses and almost 50 years wearing soft contact lenses. When I started with contacts in the mid-1970s, I had to make my own saline solution (salt tablet in distilled water) and daily cleaning was non-existent (I sterilized my lenses by steaming a porous lens container suspended at the top of the boiler unit that was filled with 1/4 cup of distilled water). A weekly protein tablet was used to clean my lenses; lenses would last 15 - 18 months, eventually the protein buildup made the lenses impossible to wear comfortably.
Cleaning solutions and lens technology have come a long way. My contacts are now monthly wear and I clean them daily. No more weekly protein removal needed. I break out a new pair lenses on the first day of the month. Daily wear lenses are not available in my prescription. I’ve only lost one pair of lenses in my near 50 years (forgot to close my eyes when jumping into water) and I’ve had a couple of lenses tear due to rough handling. I’ve never had an eye infection from wearing lenses. For me, contact lenses were and continue to be my saving grace, as most outdoor activities (and contact sports until my mid-30s) are challenging when I wear my glasses (slippage, steaming up, frames getting bent etc).
Like most things in life, everything in moderation. I believe my success with contact lenses can be attributed to the following: **good fortune, I know many who cannot wear contact lenses; **I seldom wear my contact lenses more than 12 hours per day; **my hands are spotlessly clean when I handle lenses; **if my eyes begin to dry out, a couple of eye drops rehydrate my eyes (more important as I’ve aged); and, **annual appointment with my optometrist to make sure my eyes are healthy.
I’ve never considered laser surgery as my eyes cannot be corrected to 20/20 and corrective lenses would still be needed. Cataract surgery will likely be in my future, that may be my opportunity to finally shed my “coke bottle” glasses.
Thanks for reading along this far….
Cleaning solutions and lens technology have come a long way. My contacts are now monthly wear and I clean them daily. No more weekly protein removal needed. I break out a new pair lenses on the first day of the month. Daily wear lenses are not available in my prescription. I’ve only lost one pair of lenses in my near 50 years (forgot to close my eyes when jumping into water) and I’ve had a couple of lenses tear due to rough handling. I’ve never had an eye infection from wearing lenses. For me, contact lenses were and continue to be my saving grace, as most outdoor activities (and contact sports until my mid-30s) are challenging when I wear my glasses (slippage, steaming up, frames getting bent etc).
Like most things in life, everything in moderation. I believe my success with contact lenses can be attributed to the following: **good fortune, I know many who cannot wear contact lenses; **I seldom wear my contact lenses more than 12 hours per day; **my hands are spotlessly clean when I handle lenses; **if my eyes begin to dry out, a couple of eye drops rehydrate my eyes (more important as I’ve aged); and, **annual appointment with my optometrist to make sure my eyes are healthy.
I’ve never considered laser surgery as my eyes cannot be corrected to 20/20 and corrective lenses would still be needed. Cataract surgery will likely be in my future, that may be my opportunity to finally shed my “coke bottle” glasses.
Thanks for reading along this far….
This thread reminds of 30+ years of myself wearing glasses and sometimes contacts. I despised them really. The weight of the glasses being worn all day would leave permanent indentations on the bridge of my nose. After getting laser eye surgery it was like seeing in high definition, a huge improvement and alleviation from the eye shackles. No more replacing broken glasses, looking for them when they are lost, no more irritation, relief for my nose bridge. The surgeon told that I’d need reading glasses eventually as I age but it hasn’t come to that yet….knock on wood.
- Thread starter
- #38
So this weekend was interesting. Decided to put the trial contacts in Friday night for my daughter's play. Had them in for maybe 2 hrs, and 5 minutes before the play started my left lens decided to come out (SWMBO says I was touching my eyes too much). I rushed into the bathroom, no solution or case on hand, and was obviously too stressed to get it back in. I ended up wrapping the lens in some tissue paper and holding it until I got home. Then I cleaned it off and stuck it in the case. I called the office the next day, and they told me to clean it off and once it regained it's shape to use it again, so I did. Saturday everything went as planned.
Sunday morning, had a little trouble getting it into the left eye but nothing too bad. Wore them all day again. Removed the right lens Sunday evening, but struggled with the left. Started looking very carefully, and I can't even see the damn thing. I tried touching it several times, and felt like I was just poking myself in the eye. I asked SWMBO to check, and she kinda laughs at me, says she can't tell, and encourages me to take a break and try again. When I do try again, same thing - why am I poking myself in my damn eye! Where is this blasted thing?! Google what happens if you sleep in your contact, and am now convinced I'll go blind. More poking of eyeball, and determine that I can't do anything else and I'll risk blindness to get some sleep.
All that to say that this morning, I stopped at the Eye Doc on my way to work, and they were able to look and confirm that there is no lens in the eye. So while I'm not crazy in that sense, I apparently cannot tell whether the damn things are even in my eye or not. Thankfully, my glasses are ready to be picked up so I can start learning all the negatives about that solution as well. Hopefully this rambling at least brought a bit of a chuckle to the start of your days.
Sunday morning, had a little trouble getting it into the left eye but nothing too bad. Wore them all day again. Removed the right lens Sunday evening, but struggled with the left. Started looking very carefully, and I can't even see the damn thing. I tried touching it several times, and felt like I was just poking myself in the eye. I asked SWMBO to check, and she kinda laughs at me, says she can't tell, and encourages me to take a break and try again. When I do try again, same thing - why am I poking myself in my damn eye! Where is this blasted thing?! Google what happens if you sleep in your contact, and am now convinced I'll go blind. More poking of eyeball, and determine that I can't do anything else and I'll risk blindness to get some sleep.
All that to say that this morning, I stopped at the Eye Doc on my way to work, and they were able to look and confirm that there is no lens in the eye. So while I'm not crazy in that sense, I apparently cannot tell whether the damn things are even in my eye or not. Thankfully, my glasses are ready to be picked up so I can start learning all the negatives about that solution as well. Hopefully this rambling at least brought a bit of a chuckle to the start of your days.
You'll learn in time how to determine if the lens is still on the eye.
Tip, blink often to keep the lens moist. Put drops in your eyes a few minutes before removing. Dry lens are more difficult to remove. Never force removal of a "stuck" lens. Nothing good will come of that.
Have worn glasses since the 6th grade. Currently - I choose to wear glasses approx 80% of the time, reserving contacts (dailies) for when I’m actively in sports or will be in the outdoors for the day; beach, fishing, hiking, etc. I also have extended wear contacts, but finding that I’m using them less and less these days.
On occasion, I have 1.0 strength magnifiers at the ready, if I’ve been particularly heavy with documentation during the day/week. By at the ready, have a pair in my car, another upstairs at my desk, and a primary.
Nothing worse than being on the boat and not being able to tie another hook because I left my readers.
I’ve worn plenty of contacts to bed, there are some brands that are more lenient in this regard.
On occasion, I have 1.0 strength magnifiers at the ready, if I’ve been particularly heavy with documentation during the day/week. By at the ready, have a pair in my car, another upstairs at my desk, and a primary.
Nothing worse than being on the boat and not being able to tie another hook because I left my readers.
Wait until you’ve had one roll up or fold in on you. That’s about as fun as wearing them during rifle qualifications and having them trap gas discharge.
I’ve worn plenty of contacts to bed, there are some brands that are more lenient in this regard.
Last edited:
Similar threads
