With the advent of technology, it is easy to order glasses online or even have contact lenses delivered. With so many choices comes greater responsibility of choosing what you enjoy and deciding what is safe.
Clunky glasses are an obstacle in life. Not only do they cause a hindrance when playing sports, they often break or are simply lost. Contact lenses are an easy and carefree replacement for glasses. They make the wearer’s life easier. When wearing lenses, you can do most activities effortlessly and like in the case of glasses, you do not have to care about keeping your pair securely. Other benefits of lenses may include:
Easier lifestyle:
Lenses make playing sports exponentially easier and you have fewer glasses induced facial injuries.
Driving comfort:
When wearing glasses, your peripheral vision is compromised whereas contact lenses offer an advantageous smooth, unobstructed vision.
Clearer vision:
Contacts provide clearer vision as they are placed directly on your cornea, making your vision less distorted.
Weatherproof:
Contact lenses are less distracting and don’t move as much as glasses do. Additionally, they are weatherproof as they don’t fog up and cause vision hindrances.
Appearance:
Contacts are still chosen over glasses to, perhaps, feel more attractive and to avoid clashes with people’s wardrobe. Additionally, colored lenses help curate a new look everyday.
But is it all hunky-dory? Alas, it isn’t.
Although contact lenses provide the much needed comfort of vision and are relatively safe, there is a catch. Because contact lenses rest directly on your cornea and decrease the amount of oxygen reaching the eye, they pose a higher risk of eye infections than glasses do. They can also damage your eyes if they aren’t cleaned, worn for too long and if doctor’s instructions aren’t followed closely.
Risks associated with lenses:
- As mentioned above, your eyes need oxygen and moisture to remain healthy. Lenses, by nature, inhibits these elements from reaching your cornea. Dry eyes are common occurrences when wearing contacts.
- Contacts, if not properly cared for, lead to corneal scratches, ulcers, eye infections and inflammations. Not following doctor prescribed eye care regimen can lead to these serious conditions.
- Wearing them is uncomfortable. The process of wearing and removing contacts lenses takes longer than expected.
- Swimming, washing your face, sleeping or napping becomes cumbersome.
- If you are prone to allergies, certain seasons could be unbearable due to lenses.
- Lenses are heavier on the pocket and need a lot of accessories to be taken care of.
- They are easily damaged and lost if overlooked or forgotten.
What you can do to avoid these risks
Here are a few ways for you to avoid the risks associated with contact lenses.
- First and foremost, you must wash your hands with soap before touching your lenses or your eyes.
- Upon removal, lenses should be disinfected and cleaned to get rid of the germs/bacteria and to prevent eye infections.
- Contact lenses case must be washed daily and left for drying (microorganisms on the case can cause some major eye damage) and replaced every three months.
- Never ‘top-off’ your lens solution as germs already present in the previous solution can lead to lens contamination and some major eye infections.
- Do not replace your lens solution with water or any other liquid.
- Wear lenses and use eye drops only prescribed your optometrist.
- Replace your contact lenses as prescribed by your optometrist.
- Consult your eye doctor if you suffer from any contact lens discomfort and remember to go for regular appointments for eye check-ups.
You can always have a pair of glasses as backup and enjoy both the looks according to occasion. Happy viewing!
