When considering vision correction people are always comparing glasses and contacts to laser eye surgery. Those are the three options for anyone with poor vision. Lets take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of each one and then make a comparative analysis of which one is the best.
Glasses
Glasses are the oldest, most well-known form of vision correction. Eyeglasses have been around for centuries and have helped people with all sorts of vision problems.
Benefits
- Glasses can be fashioned to provide very accurate vision. Wearing glasses definitely helps improve your vision to almost perfect level.
- Glasses generally are low cost items. Depending on the type of glasses you wear. Some people might opt for the expensive designer types, in which case the price will obviously be more expensive.
- Almost all people can wear glasses without any real difficulty.
- Due to the established nature of glasses as being the staple of vision correction, it is very easy to find glasses anywhere in the world. You can go from deserts, to farms, to mountainous areas and you are guaranteed to find optometrists.
- A lesser known advantage of glasses is that the serve as secondary eye protection gear.
- If you take very good care of your glasses and if your vision does not regress, glasses can be very cheap.
Draw backs
- Depending on your level of activity and hobbies, glasses are very susceptible to being damaged or lost. As easy as it is to sit on them or drop them, these are jut simply realities of owning spectacles.
- Losing glasses is just as common an issue. You might take them off for a sec and place them somewhere only for them to disappear into the abyss.
- If you work in a field where you are required to wear some kind of eye safety equipment or have to look into microscopes, glasses can be very annoying.
- If you are an athlete or work in a capacity as a sportsman, glasses can be very limiting and can even make you less competitive.
- Some people are very insecure about what they regard as being ‘unattractive’.
Contacts
Contacts have been the middle ground between laser and glasses for a while now. But as time carries on and people grow more receptive to vision correction, contacts are starting to lose their appeal.
Benefits
- Simply put, if you don’t like the aesthetics of glasses, contacts are a good option for you.
- Contacts provide a greater field of view as you are not obstructed by the rims of the glasses and the lens actually conforms around your eye.
- Contacts allow you to be more active than what you could be compared to if you were wearing glasses.
Draw backs
- Even Though contacts allow you to be more active they are still limiting, for example you can’t swim.
- Wearers of contacts frequently experience dry eyes and irritation.
- One of the biggest issues with contacts is that they constantly put your eyes at risk of infection.
- This forces the wearer to adhere to a strict and annoying hygiene schedule which can be burdensome.
Laser eye surgery
Laser eye surgery, and especially modern vision correction surgery, has only been around for about 20 years. And techniques are improving all the time. For example SMILE surgery was only introduced in 2017.
Benefits
- The results with laser eye surgery are permanent. Your vision is corrected for good.
- The actual laser eye surgery procedure takes only 8~10 minutes. If you include the 2~3 hour eye tests it can all be done in less than 4 hours.
- With newer procedures recovery time is as little as just one day.
- Laser eye surgery does not require any maintenance.
- You have freedom to enjoy life the way you did without any limitations that glasses and contacts bring.
- The visual acuity is often higher than what can be achieved with glasses or contacts.
Draw backs
- Laser eye surgery can have a high upfront cost depending on country and budget.
- Some people might not be suited for laser eye surgery.
- It is more invasive than wearing glasses or contacts.
Which one is best?
Let’s take 3 factors into consideration:
1. Cost
Glasses might cost you around $250 per pair per year. That works out to about $2500 over 10 years (If you are careful)
Contacts will be about $360 per year, so around $3600 over 10 years!
Laser eye surgery is about $2000 once off and done!
Winner – Laser eye surgery
2. Long term
Glasses need to be replaced and looked after forever
Contacts are also only temporary
Laser eye surgery is long term due to its permanent nature
Winner – Laser eye surgery
3. Convenience
Glasses are probably the most inconvenient as you are very dependent on having something heavy on your face,
Contacts are similar in the sense that you need to take solution with you and they are still rendered useless if particles get in them
Laser eye surgery is performed once with some discomfort and inconvenience for a few days and then you never have to think about it again.
Winner – Laser eye surgery