6 Benefits of Wearing Contact Lenses

I’ve needed eye glasses pretty much all my life. I first started wearing them when I was in Grade 2 – what my parents thought was the result of me having my eyes glued too closely to the TV every day! Turns out, bad eyesight is something that runs in our family. When I was in elementary school, I didn’t mind wearing glasses because I was known as the school “brainer” by all my friends (a nickname I inherited because I was in the gifted program and was always the teacher’s pet). But, the situation quickly changed when I got to high school.

In high school, looks mattered and it was no longer cute to wear glasses (also, try wearing glasses AND braces at the same time!). Back then, glasses weren’t considered fashionable, as they are now; and you couldn’t find a variety of nice-looking frames then, like you can at places like IRIS now. One of my most vivid memories from my first year of high school was wanting to get contact lenses more than anything in the world and my parents saying no. At the end of Grade 9, my parents finally allowed me to get contact lenses. But by then, the damage had been done and I never stood a chance at being considered one of the cool kids!

Nevertheless, putting on contact lenses for the first time was life-changing! Fast-forward to more than 20 years later and I still rely heavily on them. In fact, they’re probably one of the biggest essentials in my life! So, for that reason, today I’ve teamed up with IRIS to share 6 benefits of wearing contact lenses (including one or two you may not have known about) – whether you’re considering getting them for yourself or already wear them.

1. Full Field of Vision

Glasses sit on your nose, about 12mm (or half an inch) from your eyes; whereas contact lenses sit directly on your eyeballs. The gap created by wearing glasses causes some distortion in your vision, which can be pretty hard to get used to for some people (in fact, I’ve never gotten used to it). When you wear contact lenses, which move with your eyeballs, you have a full field of vision, including peripheral vision. We all need our peripheral vision, especially when driving. I have an extremely high prescription, so the ‘blind spots’ created from glasses can actually be dangerous.

2. They Allow You to Feel ‘Normal’

When a lot of people first start wearing glasses, they ‘feel funny’. It can be a big adjustment. Many people also report difficulty focusing on objects and may have blurry vision, which in theory, should go away. But wearing contact lenses allows you to feel completely normal – like yourself.

3. They Can Be Better Suited to Your Lifestyle and Certain Activities

A quality pair of contact lenses will feel like they’re not even there. They are much less obtrusive than glasses, which can feel like a weight on your face. When you wear contact lenses, you don’t have to worry about pushing them back up the bridge of your nose when they’ve fallen, about them fogging up in the winter time or getting wet, or about them falling off, or even worse, breaking. Contact lenses are much better for playing sports and exercise, in addition to many other activities.

4. Aesthetics

When you wear contact lenses, you won’t get called “four eyes” in school, like I did! Nowadays, there is a much better variety of nice-looking frames to choose from. But, that didn’t exist when I was back in school; and let me tell you, kids can be mean! Having to wear glasses when you’re a kid can really do a number on your self-esteem! In fact, more than half of optometrists feel it’s appropriate for kids between 10 and 12 years old to start wearing contact lenses, and I would argue contact lenses can be safer than glasses (which can easily be broken).

5. Your Choice of Glasses Can be Limited

People with lower prescriptions can pretty much chose whatever frames they want. But, when you have a high prescription, you have to stick to smaller pairs with more compact frames and lenses.

My prescription is roughly -9 in each eye (!) and I have an astigmatism in my left eye. All my life, I’ve had trouble finding the right pair of glasses. All the fashion frames I liked weren’t appropriate because larger framed glasses cause high prescription lenses to be really thick at the edges and look like coke-bottle glasses! This is one of the biggest reasons why contact lenses are most suitable for me. I have no trouble finding the right pair of contact lenses for my high prescription and astigmatism. I wear Biofinity monthly disposables, which I got at IRIS. They are premium contact lenses that are durable, breathable, and provide superior comfort and vision performance. IRIS has a great selection of contact lenses, ranging from daily to bi-weekly to monthly. Speak to your eye doctor to determine what’s best for you.

6. They Can be a Shield For Your Eyes

I’m sure a lot of people never realized that contact lenses can act like a protective layer or barrier over your eyes. Ever try cutting onions with your contact lenses on, and then try again with them off or wearing glasses? Contact lenses actually shield your eyes, so they don’t sting when cutting onions!

Do you wear contact lenses or glasses? Or both? Which do you prefer?

This post was done in partnership with IRIS, but as always, all opinions are 100% my own.