How to Decide Whether to Buy Contacts

The pros of contacts:

They do not slide off your face while exercising

Have you ever been jogging on the treadmill or mowing the lawn, and the sweat on your face is causing your glasses to slide down your nose every 30 seconds or so? With contacts you never have this problem because your eyeballs do not sweat.

You can wear them while swimming

I went to a water park last year and had run out of wearable contacts. I decided to bring along my glasses and wear them throughout the day (I am blind as a bat without them). Going on the various high speed rides and splashing around in pools, rivers, and other man made bodies of water is not the same experience with glasses on your face or in your hand (for protection). You can very easily run around with a pair of contacts on your eyes without all the worry. A little tip: never open your eyes under water while wearing contacts, this exposes your contacts to chlorine, and you also run the risk of your contact coming out in the water.

They do not alter your appearance

Any pair of glasses you wear, no matter what brand or style you choose will alter your appearance. With contacts you are who you are, and if you so choose, you can be you with a different eye color for fun.

The cons of contacts:

You do not have something sticking to your eyeball

The idea of pulling up your eyelid and watching your finger come closer and closer until you are literally poking yourself in the eye every morning to put your contacts in might not be appealing to everyone. Pulling them out again is not so fun either. With the uses of eyeglasses your fingers do not come anywhere near your eyes. I also find that after a long day while wearing contacts I feel like my eyelids just cannot stay open a second longer. Almost like my contacts have become flypaper, and my eyelids just cannot resist.

Extra time

When I put in my first pair of contacts for the very first time it took me 2 hours to get them back out again. Now of course that is not the case anymore. It still takes more time, however, to put contacts in every morning and take them out again before going to bed than it does to slide a pair of glasses on or off.

Contacts can cause cysts and irritation

Contacts can have an awful side affect. This may not be the case with everyone, but I have found that with regular contact wearing I have frequent cysts on my upper and lower eyelids. And occasionally, if I’m not very good at throwing my lenses out in a timely manner, my eyes will get red and irritated.

Astigmatism

If you have Astigmatism you end up with a whole other slew of problems. If your contacts are improperly positioned you cannot see a thing. Toric Lenses, a special weighted type of contacts, have to be put in your eye in a specific direction. Some brands of contacts move around less than others when situated on your eyeball, but I have yet to find a pair of contacts that I do not have to reposition occasionally.

Of course, follow your doctor’s advice.