Alternatives to Wearing Glasses

If your eyesight is bad or seems to be deteriorating with time, an eye exam may reveal that you need glasses. If this is new to you, you may feel upset about the need to wear glasses to see—they can change your whole appearance. Luckily, other options are available nowadays. Here is a brief guide to some alternatives to wearing glasses.

Contact Lenses

By far the most popular alternative to glasses, contact lenses are thin lenses worn directly on the surface of the eye to provide clearer vision.

Why Do People Wear Contacts?

Contact lenses are a brilliant alternative to glasses because they are very nearly invisible when worn, so they are not as obvious or obtrusive as spectacles.

Contacts don’t fog up with condensation like glasses, and they can be worn in conjunction with sunglasses or goggles, meaning that they’re ideal for outdoor sports or other physical activities. They also provide better peripheral vision than glasses, as the lens sits directly on the surface of the eye rather than a couple of centimeters in front.

Types of Contact Lens

There are two main types of contacts: soft lenses and hard lenses.

Soft lenses are usually made of flexible plastics that are malleable enough to sit comfortably on the eye’s surface. Soft lenses exist as daily disposables, two-weekly disposables, or monthly disposables, as well as options that allow more extended wear.

Daily disposables are practical for people who don’t wear contacts every day; they are thin and comfortable to wear, and their disposable nature means they require no cleaning or storage. Two-weekly and monthly disposables are usually less expensive, but they require cleaning and storage in special saline solutions to maintain their form and keep them fresh.

“Hard” contact lenses, or rigid gas permeable contacts, are less popular nowadays as they tend to be less comfortable than soft contacts, though they do offer some benefits: They do not need to be replaced as frequently as soft lenses and can actually offer a better vision to people with severe astigmatism. If you have astigmatism, check out Stoney Creek Eye Care’s guide to contact lenses for astigmatism to discover your options.

Hybrid contacts also exist that combine the benefits of hard and soft contact lenses, though these are less common today thanks to developments in soft contact lens technology. Speak to your optometrist to see which type of contact lens could work best for your prescription.

Laser Eye Surgery

If you’re looking for a more permanent solution to vision problems, laser eye surgery may be a good option—though it’s worth noting that it will only be permanent if your eyesight is no longer naturally changing. Laser eye surgery will not be effective if your prescription still changes annually.

There are two common types of laser eye surgery, LASEK and LASIK. The technology used is almost identical, and the main difference is that LASEK uses only one laser, while LASIK uses two. The recovery time for LASIK tends to be faster, so it is usually the preferable choice. Both options have similar success rates and can lead to excellent improvements in vision.

Whatever you decide to do to help your vision, remember that glasses are a good option! They’re easy to wear and are relatively cheap to buy, and there are hundreds of styles available to suit everyone’s taste. Talk to an eye doctor and see what could work best for you.