Is contact lenses vs. glasses primarily a cosmetic choice?

chanatron1000

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:25 pm

I've realized that people have very different opinions on this, and I want to know what most people think.

amother

Peru

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:28 pm

Of COURSE it’s cosmetic, but I also personally get dizzy and sweaty in glasses and can’t see as well
But of course contact lenses are cosmetic, as they should be

amother

Brass

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:30 pm

Not for me. I have an extremely high prescription and have been wearing lenses since I was a little kid, it helped slow the decline of my eyesight. I don’t feel awake without my lenses, I get disoriented and can’t drive because my peripheral vision is basically nonexistent in glasses.

peace2

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:33 pm

I started wearing contacts for cosmetics but at this point I can't stand the feeling of glasses on my face. They make me dizzy and give me a headache and I feel disoriented when I wear them. Probably if I never switched to contacts I would be perfectly comfortable in glasses tho

synthy

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:36 pm

I voted for the second option because that’s the case with me, but I then realized that for most people it probably is a cosmetic choice.

mha3484

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:40 pm

My father has an allergy to soft lenses and wears the old style hard contacts or glasses. When I tried contacts a long time ago I had the same reaction so I just stuck with the glasses.

amother

Tulip

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:41 pm

peace2 wrote:

Similar for me. Been wearing contacts since I was 10 and I never wear glasses. Like maybe 5 times in last 20 years.
I can't stand glasses on my face. I actually got my daughter who's 10 contacts this year and I feel like she now has a choice of what she wants to wear. Sometimes she like a glasses but it's very annoying for her in the rain or when it's cold outside and they get foggy.

Tzivia18

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:42 pm

Mainly cosmetic, but also makes life easier that my glasses won’t fall off, especially when I’m dealing with little kids (who like to grab) or working out.

amother

Hyacinth

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:44 pm

Depends on who. Some of my kids got contact lenses at a young age because the lenses were preserving the shape of the eye and preventing further deterioration of their vision. I got lenses in my 20s for cosmetic reasons, but didn't like the fact that I was stretching the skin around my eyes, which would eventually adversely affect my looks, or having to remove the lenses to take a nap--this was before extended-wear lenses. I also noticed that my eye doctors all wore glasses, not lenses, and I found that lenses didn't correct my vision as well as glasses did. And lenses were more expensive. So I eventually quit, went back to glasses and never looked back.

amother

Tanzanite

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:45 pm

Can be both. In recent years, I decide which to wear based on comfort, but when I was younger I cared more about cosmetics.

I find glasses more comfortable and wear them by default. But if I plan to play a sport or work out and get sweaty, I prefer contacts. Also, during COVID, if I knew I was going to spend a lot of time in a mask-required environment, I preferred to wear contacts.

amother

Rainbow

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:48 pm

For me its sensory. I can't stand the feeling of glasses on my face (or any jewelry for that matter)
I also find it harder to read with glasses

amother

Lightpink

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:54 pm

My eyes are too irritated and sensitive to tolerate lenses, I’ve tried a few times with different doctors and it works short term and then I can’t tolerate it anymore so I’ve resigned myself to glasses. I try to have fun with it, splurge on new pairs and enjoy the way I look.

amother

PlumPink

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:54 pm

I used to wear contacts daily but the price has increased a lot and glasses are much cheaper
I have astigmatism which is more expense I’ve then regular contact lenses. So for me it’s price
If it would be cheaper I would wear daily I prefer nothing on my face
But until I’m rich it’s glasses

amother

Crystal

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:55 pm

amother Brass wrote:

Same for my daughter. Her number kept on climbing got her special contact lenses.

amother

Slategray

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 12:58 pm

I had contact lenses up to my mid twenties. At that point I gave up because I got problems too often, wind and flying dust and sand outdoors, dry air from a/c indoors etc.
I find glasses much more comfortable. No pain, no eye irritation. And I even found a cosmetic plus in them: they conceal the dark rings I always have under my eyes better than any make up.

chanatron1000

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 1:05 pm

For me, daily disposable contacts are more comfortable than glasses, more practical, and they allow me to use my peripheral vision, but they're extremely expensive.

amother

Brass

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 1:06 pm

amother Crystal wrote:

Same for my daughter. Her number kept on climbing got her special contact lenses.

They didn’t have the special lenses when I was a kid, this was almost 30 years ago. They’re so much more advanced and effective these days.

Cost isn’t that much of a factor for me. My lenses are expensive, my glasses are expensive…

amother

NeonYellow

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 1:14 pm

My eyes are too dry to wear contacts for too long especially when working at a computer. (they are drier then usualy according to my optometrist.)
Glasses are just so much easier to put on in the morning you dont have to 'wake up' for them.
Shabbos I try to wear lenses, I dont like my shabbos wig with glasses, but rarely I just cant manage it.

amother

Salmon

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 1:26 pm

My daughter has a high far sighted prescription so contacts are better for her as per the eye doctor who yes wears glasses.
My neice has hard lenses due to high prescription so I think it really depends. Wouldn't make assumptions.