4 Reasons to Wear Contact Lenses Instead of Glasses

Nowadays, there are many ways for people to access eye care and treatment. While glasses have been the dominant form of vision correction, contact lenses have become more popular recently. In 2024, the number of contact lens prescriptions in the UK increased significantly compared to previous years. 60% of fittings recorded by contact lens opticians were described as “new fits”, meaning these were patients who had never worn contact lenses or hadn’t worn contacts for a number of years. Meanwhile, 80% of eye care professionals surveyed were contact lens opticians.

As you can see, contact lenses have become an increasingly popular eye care product. Like glasses, contact lenses can be worn for vision correction and cosmetic purposes. Still, not many people are as well-versed about contact lens use. Below, we’ll be discussing four reasons to wear contact lenses instead of glasses:

Having a wider range of vision

One of the most noticeable benefits of wearing contacts over regular glasses is correcting your vision without blocking parts of what you see. Nowadays, eyeglasses come in various shapes and designs, and while some people may opt for chunky frames for more style points, those frames will be blocking part of their vision.

On the other hand, wearing contacts allows you to correct your vision without anything blocking what you see. The lack of glass or plastic lenses also means you won’t have to worry about your contacts fogging up or getting wet when it’s cold or rainy outdoors.

Stocking up for on-the-go use

A possible downside to wearing glasses is the constant worry of losing, dropping, or damaging them. This is especially true for glasses-wearers who travel or move around a lot. For contact lens-wearers, this is less of a worry, especially if you use daily disposable lenses that are meant for single use.

These days, you can easily order contact lenses via online retailers. Lenstore offers contacts from reputable brands like Acuvue in various forms, from daily disposables to monthlies. The Acuvue Moist lenses, for example, can be purchased in multi-packs of 30 lenses, so you’re always well-stocked and won’t have to worry when you lose, drop, or damage a pair. Plus, you get to replace your lenses regularly, ensuring minimal exposure to bacteria on your old contacts.

Having more mobility

Another benefit of choosing contact lenses instead of glasses is the added mobility. Some glasses-wearers may opt for lanyards or chains to prevent their glasses from falling, but these measures don’t guarantee that you’ll be able to move around without breaking your good pair of glasses.

Instead, many physically active people opt for contact lenses. Even Olympic athletes and superstar sportsmen wear contacts when playing, especially those requiring vision support or correction. For example, ex-Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea is known to wear contacts during matches, and he’s known to be one of the best in the world at his role. Another superstar athlete known to wear contacts on the field is Cristiano Ronaldo.

Receiving vision correction without affecting appearance

Finally, one of the more common reasons people wear contacts instead of their eyeglasses is because of how seamless they look. Unlike glasses that come in different styles and shapes, contacts are mostly invisible eye care tools that provide function and protection. Of course, wearing coloured cosmetic contacts is an entirely different ordeal.

Still, for people who may have trouble matching their glasses with the rest of their look or don’t want to deal with glasses’ reflections in pictures and videos, contact lenses offer similar functions without getting in the way of your regular appearance. If you want blue light protection but don’t like the look of blue light glasses, for example, some contact lenses have blue light blocking technology.

If you liked this post and would like more fashion and style insights, you can check out an overview of London Fashion Week 2024 by Creative Fashion Director Kristine Kilty.