Which is better, eyeglasses or contact lenses?

This bout is scheduled for 5 rounds...

There is no cut and dry answer to this question. While eyeglasses vs contact lenses is not a bout that would sell out Ceasar's Palace, it is of importance to most of us who rely on vision correction.

Because the eyeglasses vs contact lenses debate is of such interest to so many, Let's look at the general pros and cons for each type of vision correction.

I'll give you the facts and you can then decide for yourself which is best for you.

Round 1 - Quality of Vision:

Eyeglasses provide crisp clear and consistent vision straight ahead. There are not many variables to vision throughout the day because with glasses you are looking through a solid piece of plastic.

Contacts give you good straight ahead vision, however it is not as consistent as with glasses. Soft lenses are made of plastics and water and are therefore prone to change with environmental variables. For example, air conditioners and circulated air can cause your lenses to dehydrate leading to blurred vision. To clear your lenses, all you need to do is blink.

Round 2 - Distortions:

Eyeglasses again, give you great crisp vision straight ahead. Anything that is not straight ahead will have an element of distortion. The stronger your correction and the more astigmatism you have, the greater the distortion will be. If you are nearsighted (minus lenses) everything will seem small and far away with glasses. If you are farsighted (plus lenses) everything will appear larger and closer.

Because contact lenses rest directly on the eye, distortion is drastically reduced. In fact, people who have high corrections and are new to lenses often take a little time to get used to seeing without distortion. Contacts give you more true to life vision.

Round 3 - Peripheral Vision:

Eyeglasses do not give you any peripheral vision. Any area of the lens you look through except the optical center will give you a distorted image. If you are wearing glasses, your entire head needs to move to see an image clearly, which makes backing up a car very difficult for many.

Contact lenses provide a full range of vision; furthermore, you can move your eyes only and still see clearly. Peripheral vision is a huge plus of contact lenses.

Round 4 - Comfort:

When properly fit, eyeglasses can be very comfortable. With new lightweight lens materials and frames, most any prescription can look and feel good. The higher the prescription and the larger the frames, the thicker (and heavier) the lenses will be.

Contact lenses, when fit correctly, are also extremely comfortable. Regardless of the correction, there is no heavy frame on your face or thick lenses to weigh you down. Certain eyes may take a little more time and patience to find a comfortable fit. In my experience; most anyone can wear comfortable contact lenses.

Round 5 - Style:

Frames can be stylish. No doubt about it. It's the lenses in the frame that can make them, err... not so chick. High minus lenses have thick edges and give the appearance of small beady eyes. High plus lenses have thick centers and give the appearance of large, magnified, eyes.

With contact lenses, nobody has to know you are wearing them. Unless you want them to know you wear lenses. In this case you can wear colors or theatrical lenses to accessories your eyes.

The results are in: Now you have the facts, you can decide for yourself which is best for you. With the comfort and ease of contact lenses today, there is nothing wrong with wearing contacts part time and glasses the rest of the time.