Life is about decisions. Every day we must make choices that will affect our life marginally or extraordinarily. We may need to decide between the fuel efficiency of a compact car, and the ruggedness of a Sport Utility Vehicle. We may have to choose between a rustic house in the country and a posh condominium in the heart of a metropolis. However, the most significant decision of our day could be about which flavour if ice cream to buy: Espresso Fudge Ripple or Honeydew Vanilla Sorbet. Likewise, when availing of an eye doctor’s vision care, we may have to select either eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Looking Back In Time

The history of eyeglasses began in ancient Mediterranean and Chinese civilizations, when people used primitive eyewear. Then during the 1200s, Roger Bacon was probably the first inventor to create a tool of two lenses installed in a frame, to be placed in front of one’s eyes. Eyeglasses greatly improved in the 17000s, when light refraction impacted the grinding of eyeglasses’ lenses. In a vision care breakthrough, in 1785 Benjamin Franklin announced that he had invented bifocal lenses. This allowed people to view near and far objects with one pair of eyeglasses.

Meanwhile, contact lenses were first invented in 1887. However, these contact lenses were not like those that vision care provides today. The former were awkward and could only be worn for a short time. In then middle 1900s, the first contact lenses based on plastic, were built. However, other lenses that let the eye receive more oxygen, are more comfortable and can be worn for a longer duration.

Like Lenses

The similarities between eyeglasses and contact lenses, may seem to make selecting one or the other through vision care, very difficult. Both can treat astigmatism, caused by an abnormal cornea. Also, both eyeglasses and contact lenses are reasonably priced, considering that you wear them daily. Lastly, both types of eyewear require cleaning and cautious handling.

Keep In Contacts?

Thus, when receiving vision care, one should consider the advantages that eyeglasses and contact lenses have over each other. Contact lenses have several advantages over eyeglasses:

They cause no reflections or barriers to be seen

They are compatible with sunglasses

They focus your whole field of vision

They allow people to see your eyes

They collect no liquid

They match with all outfits

They are not a disturbance

They create more natural vision than eyeglasses

They do not fog up

They do not slip off the noise or create uncomfortable weight

Nonetheless, when requiring vision care for your new eyewear, consider that contact lenses can cause eye problems. These include red eyes, bacterial infections, irritated eyes, lenses that fit too tightly, deposits of protein, changes in the cornea’s shape, and poor vision.

When receiving vision care, you may have to decide between contact lenses and eyeglasses. Purchase the eyewear type that best suits your vision needs, will make your future look brighter than ever!