Eye Glasses vs Contact Lenses

Eyeglasses. When I wore contacts, I occasionally got bug spray on them. DEET melts plastic, so just a couple little droplets ruined them. Plus the heavy pollen and dust in summer got behind them and really irritated my eyes. This was before disposable contacts were available, so you might not have as much of a problem.

I prefer LASIK.?ÿ I did the glasses thing for about two years.?ÿ With all the dust on construction sites, sweating into the lenses, fogging up, etc.?ÿ I didn't want to do the contacts either.?ÿ I had a couple friends do LASIK and said it wasn't all that bad.?ÿ I had it done 10 years ago and I still say it was the best investment I've ever made.?ÿ It's way cheaper these days too.

I've worn contacts since I was a Freshman. I love them. The only part I don't like is my lenses are gas permeable (semi-hard) so dusty conditions are not ideal. On windy days or where I'm expecting lots of dust, I would wear my glasses, or at least take them as a backup.

I didn't start wearing glasses until I was about 30.?ÿ For the first 10 years I wore transitions but a couple years ago I went to separate sets and prefer that now.?ÿ I've never tried contacts and I wouldn't even consider them actually, I'd do lasik before contacts.

I have to wear contacts as they protect my eyes, glasses as a back-up.

Can't have Lasik.

Progressive lenses in my eyeglasses.?ÿ I get the good ones, varalux.?ÿ Hardly ever look through the instrument anymore so that isn't so much of an issue.

I have Kerataconus, an eye disease that requires me to wear only the gas permeable ƒ??hardƒ? lenses that have to force my cone shaped eyeballs into proper shape for vision.

Lasik & glasses donƒ??t help.

Windy dusty bright sunny job-sites are challenging.

Did the Lasik, mono vision, about 15 years ago. Excellent! Some hallowing in low light at first but I either got used to it or it went away. I can see long or close, no problems.

Have been blessed so far.?ÿ Only require correction when at the computer and sometimes when researching.?ÿ Can get by without them for computer work if only on it for a few minutes.?ÿ Always wear glasses for casual reading such as newspaper and magazines at home.

Everything required in the field goes fine without glasses.?ÿ Almost never take them along.

The weird thing is that there has been no need for a change in my prescription in the 10+ years I have had them.?ÿ Visit the optometrist every August.

My only sibling had glasses at about age 12.?ÿ My nephews and daughters all had glasses by the time they were 14.?ÿ My parents were in their 40's.

@brad-ott

If I go a few weeks without my contacts, my eyes get sensitive, the contacts protect them and keep them from being irritated. Probably seems backward to people struggling getting used to them. 

I need glasses for distance vision, and in recent years intermediate (36" or so, i.e. computer or dashboard instrument) distance.?ÿ I don't need reading glasses (yet).?ÿ

For years I've worn prescription sunglasses in the field, and the Bolle frames I've been using have allowed me to look beneath the lenses to see the data collector screen.?ÿ But I recently updated my shades with an Oakley frame, which fits my face better.?ÿ Unfortunately, these frames don't allow me to look beneath the lenses, which made reading the data collector nearly impossible.?ÿ I sent them back to get refitted with bifocal lenses, with the inset being uncorrected.?ÿ They should arrive tomorrow.

I went the glasses route, the contacts route, both hard and soft, and finally wised up and had Lasik surgery. I have been glasses free, except shades, and contact free for the past 16 years. Lasik was new then and cost me $7500. Absolutely the best $7500 I ever spent. ?????ÿ

I'm a poor candidate for lasik or so I'm told by my optometrist. Tried contacts for a couple of months and it was the most miserable experience my eyes have ever experienced. One of the contact lenses slid behind my eye ball and irritated my eye so bad I could hardly see a thing. Went back to the doctor and they gave me a a bottle of eye lubricant and pushed me out the door. Several weeks later the lens finally worked it's way out and I'll never touch contacts again as long I live. Rimless glasses that I can see under are the only way to go for me. The light sensitive lenses work great, except when your driving as windshield glass filters out UV and keeps them from darkening.?ÿ ?ÿ

When I finally broke down and admitted I need help in the vision department I asked about multi vision contacts.?ÿ The doc said they work great but he feared that starting to wear contacts at my age would not work out.?ÿ It seems that your eyes produce less lubrication as you get older.?ÿ Not a problem if you started earlier and are use to the contacts but not so if you start out in you late 40's.?ÿ I tried them anyway only to find out he was correct.?ÿ I had no problem getting them in, it was just that after a couple of hours I could not get enough eye drops in to keep them from blurring.?ÿ I ended up getting three pair of progressive lense glasses to fit my surveying lifestyle.?ÿ A pair of Maui Jim sunglasses for those sunny days lounging around the mud puddles, a pair of standard transition glasses for everyday use and a pair of active transition safety glasses.?ÿ The sunglasses are polarized so they don't work in the field.?ÿ The active transitions work behind glass so I can drive with them but always appear a little tinted.?ÿ Next time I get glasses I will go with the active transition, the tint is about 5% and not enough to make it worth the hassle of changing glasses to drive to a mile to the store.?ÿ Glasses are a pain at the instrument in the rain.

I would love it if they made the contacts as daily's.?ÿ I could afford to use them a bit when needed and then toss them.

$20 light transition readers. I can read the data collector and monitor; and look over them to see farther. Yea everyone makes fun of me, but I got over that my first week on a field crew.?ÿ?ÿ

One thing about running an instrument, the focusing qualities are to where you can adjust the crosshairs and site image no matter your vision problems, as long as you have sight.

Contact lens are great until you are working in a very dusty environment.

I played sports with them and lost my fair share mostly from a strong breeze taking them from me due to dryness of the lens. My first pair were glass and the last pair were daily use Focus soft lens.?ÿ

I had to stop wearing contact lens when my eyes became too dry to maintain the proper amount of wetness to keep them from sticking to my eyes and causing damage.

Safety glasses now come with readers bifocal, check out DeWalt DGP59-115C bifocal glasses. They are 1.5 diopters and there are also different focal strengths and they come in clear and smoke.

There are many other makers and are priced anywhere from $4 to $15 a pair.

Lasik is great until you pass 50yrs old and it has to be repeated about every 5?ñ years.

Lens replacement is the ultimate fix. That is what I did at 57yrs old when I got to where I could not find my glasses if they were not in their normal resting place.

I had 20-20 vision until a little over a year ago my reticle was displaced after being hit in my left eye and that has been improving every so gradually and I can now see fairly well, my right eye is still 20-20.

0.02

@a-harris 

"Lasik is great until you pass 50yrs old and it has to be repeated about every 5± years."

I must be an exception to the rule. I was 54 when I had Lasik. 69 now, still great vision day and night. No surgery in between. ???? 

Glasses in the 3rd grade, couldn't see the chalkboard.?ÿ Switched to contacts in the 5th grade and since then have used every type, soft, daily throwaways, hard, gas permeable.?ÿ They are a problem in blowing dust environments but a pair of wrap sunglasses (or goggles when dirt biking) is effective.?ÿ They're better than glasses in the rain, no fogging up or water droplets.

My vision is really bad, 20/800 (-8.00 diopters) so Lasik is out of the question; not enough meat to burn off.?ÿ In 1991 I switched to gas permeable Ortho-K contacts which reshape your cornea and provide 20/20 vision when you're wearing them, and, if you only have mild to moderately bad eyeballs (-4.00 diopters or less) after an initial break-in period (a month or so) you only wear them at night and have 20/20 vision all day long *without* contacts!?ÿ It's not permanent; if you don't wear the contacts at night your vision returns to whatever it was before in a couple of days or longer if your impairment is mild.

I convinced a top dog Ortho-K optometrist to try them on my even though I'm not a candidate.?ÿ After two months of gradually stronger Ortho-K lenses my vision now drops below 20/100 immediately after removing the contacts, and gradually deteriorates over the next 4-6 hours.?ÿ After several days I'm back being blind as a bat.?ÿ The optometrist was disappointed he couldn't get it down to 20/20 but I was elated!?ÿ I wear mine backwards, all day long and remove them at night.?ÿ So I have 20/15 vision all day and when I wake up in the morning, I can read the wall clock.?ÿ The reversion to your original vision is slower at night because your eyelids are pressing on your corneas while asleep.?ÿ If need be, I can pop out my contacts and have pretty good vision for at least several hours, good enough to legally drive.?ÿ Woo-hoo!

My last visit with the optometrist he told me in 5-15 years I'd once again have 20/20 vision without contacts because my corneas are slowly clouding up and I'd need cataract surgery.?ÿ I was bummed but he said everybody who has the surgery is happy with the results and it's quite safe.

LASIK in 2002 by Gimble in Calgary, when I was 42- wasnƒ??t going to deploy with Eye glasses or contacts. 20/20 and 20/15- after the correction- distance vision has remained unchanged since, close needs cheaters which I buy in 3 packs from Walgreens or Costco for less than $20 a pack. Wouldnƒ??t be change a thing. Although I started out using 1.75s, now in the last 18 mo or so have gone to 2.00s-?ÿ