Glasses or contacts: are intraocular lens implants right for me?
Monday, March 1st, 2010When you have spent your whole life with great vision, it can be quite jarring when your eye care professional tells you that you need corrective eyewear. Sometimes it can come as a teenager, sometimes in young adulthood, and some people have perfect vision until middle age when their vision only then begins to deteriorate. Whatever the age, the realization that you now have to worry about your eyes and your ability to see can be quite daunting.
However, you just need to relax and realize that a large part of the population has been in your same position and they have managed to adapt to wearing glasses or contact lenses, and you will too. You may be wondering whether you should choose glasses or contact lenses. There are several things that you need to consider when making this decision.
First, you should discuss with your eye care professional how serious your vision loss is. For example, do you only need glasses for reading or driving, or do you need to wear them all day long? If you only need them for reading, for example, it may just be easier to wear glasses and take them off when you finish with the newspaper or book.
You also need to think about what you do in your daily life that may be affected by your choice between glasses or contacts. For example, are you active in sports? Do you like to swim? While some sports are fine to wear glasses, like power walking, contact sports are more difficult because you would worry about the glasses getting broken. Even sports glasses or goggles are not unbreakable. Another consideration may be your job. If you work in a situation where you need to wear a mask or if you are moving around a lot, like in construction, glasses might not be practical.
Next, you need to think about whether you have the patience for dealing with contact lenses. Glasses are simple. You put them on and take them off. Occasionally they may need to be cleaned with a special soft cloth, but that is about it. With contact lenses, however, you need to make sure you take pristine care of them. This includes soaking them in cleaning solution every night, not accidentally falling asleep in them, not rubbing your eyes, which can cause them to dislodge, and getting them replaced immediately if there is a tear or one is lost.
Another consideration may just be simple vanity. Some people like how they look in glasses and others prefer to look like their old self in contact lenses. This can be a consideration for teens, as well as people whose appearance matters to their career, such as a model. Keep in mind, though, that there are beautiful frames out there and everyone can find something they love. Some people who are into fashion love making their glasses another kind of fashion accessory.
The decision between glasses and contact lenses is a personal one, intraocular lens implants consider, and take all that you have read and reflect on your own life, to make the right decision for you.
About the Author: Mark Masters has authored may pieces on the eye care & surgery industry and enjoys keeping his readers up to date in this field