The choice to wear contact lenses or eyeglasses is a personal preference and neither is superior to the other. Basic considerations on choice include budget, lifestyle, convenience, aesthetics, and comfort.
Eyeglasses are versatile and offer better hygiene, while contacts are discreet, with better peripheral vision, and convenient for physical activities. So yes, you can switch from or between contact lenses and glasses to suit different circumstances for a better personal experience.
Handling allergies
Seasons come with a variety of allergies that can cause great discomfort to those who are predisposed. Eye allergies can be very irritating when they occur and will cause itchy eyes, especially when wearing contact lenses. However, contact lenses are not the cause here. Rather they only provide a medium for the condition.
If you still love your contact lenses and wish to continue using them in spring and summer, you could try a few solutions. Opt for the disposable contacts that are used for short durations and discarded before allergen buildup. The best in this category would be the daily disposables followed by weekly and monthly contacts depending on your financial strengths.
However, if disposable contacts are not sustainable, you can quickly order online and get glasses shipped by Overnight for a comfortable switch. Eyeglasses will provide the added advantage of protection against UV rays in summer that contacts lack. If you have used eyeglasses before, this switch should be comfortable and bring some relief from allergic reactions.
Sports and outdoor activities
Your eye condition should not limit your desire to enjoy favorite pastimes or handle any other physical activities. You could be a professional sportsperson, and your life depends on it for income or your workplace may not favor glasses. Whatever the case, you have to strike a balance between what works for you and what is necessary.
Playing professional soccer in glasses may not be practical and could expose you to risk from broken pieces of eyewear. Perhaps working in a commercial kitchen with steam from cooking pots persistently fogs your glasses and hampers your efficiency. Or maybe you work in a dusty environment that affects your eyes.
Any of the above scenarios would require a switch from one form of eyewear to the other for convenience. There are physical activities that go well with contact lenses for practical reasons and convenience and vice versa. Switching between contact lenses and glasses allows you to transition from one activity to another without difficulty.
Weather conditions and peripheral vision
Weather conditions can affect the performance of your corrective eyeglasses, dramatically altering your vision. There are high levels of condensation during the winter months that turn glasses foggy and blur your vision. The rains may also leave droplets on the eyeglasses that distort vision, causing the inconvenience of having to wipe them constantly.
When you move from the warm indoor environment to the cold outdoors, your glasses will immediately go foggy. This causes inconvenience, especially during winter, and may affect one’s life experience. Framed glasses may also impair peripheral vision when driving, creating further difficulty.
Faced with these challenges, it is recommended to switch from contact lenses to glasses and vice versa. Contact lenses do not fog up when transitioning from warm to cold and back, making for a good alternative in these weather conditions. Neither will they accumulate raindrops should find yourself out during a storm.
Protection and convenience
Most times, the environment is littered with all manner of debris, dust, and particulates that are potentially harmful to the eyes. Harsh winter winds and the increased glare from the snow doubles the danger of exposure to UV radiation. Sometimes we find ourselves in environments that are not perfectly clean and hygiene levels low.
Choose corrective eyewear that also offers protection against these environmental hazards conveniently. Whereas glasses, especially the wraparound type, can protect your eyes well in these conditions, contact lenses could aggravate the problems.
Wearing contact lenses in a dusty environment is not advisable and you may have to switch to glasses. In adverse conditions, cleaning eyeglasses with a lens cloth is a lot easier and more convenient than the whole process of cleaning contact lenses.
Switching for backup
Carrying around two pairs of eyeglasses may not be practical but having one in your pocket or purse is. However, you need a backup for your vital vision aid in case something happens to the one you are wearing. You could accidentally break your glasses or get pink eye, in which case you can’t use your contact lenses.
It is good practice to carry some backup when you are dependent on corrective eyewear for good vision. A combination of glasses and contact lenses is both convenient and aesthetically versatile. If your preference is contact lenses, carrying glasses along as backup comes in handy when you suddenly suffer eye infections. Switching between the two is recommended as long as each has its prescription.
