Taran McLaughlan

Whether you choose to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses to improve visibility mostly depends on what is more important to you.

Lifestyle, convenience, comfort, and budget should all make a factor in your decision-making process. Before deciding on wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses keep in mind that there are pros and cons to each.

Contacts have many advantages over eyeglasses. Contacts sit on the surface of the eye making vision, particularly peripheral vision, unobstructed.

Participation in outdoor activities and sports is far less dangerous without the fear of eyeglasses falling off or getting in the way. Another reason contacts are preferred is because they can change the color of the eye.

That being said, eyeglasses have many benefits over contacts. They require very little cleaning and maintenance. There is also no need to touch your eyes to wear them. In the long run, glasses are cheaper then contacts because they need to be replaced less often.

At Sandpoint High School there are many students that use both eyeglasses or contacts. In a poll that was taken on a public group: 42 percent prefer contacts, 29 percent prefer glasses, and 29 percent prefer neither.

According to the data from the poll more people prefer contact lenses to eyeglasses. The reality is that people that wear full-time contact lenses should also have an up-to-date pair of eyeglasses to give their eyes a break. So the decision isn’t to wear glasses or contacts, it is when and where to wear glasses or contacts.