Getting your first pair of glasses can feel life-changing. Suddenly, the world around you snaps into focus. You can see things you couldn’t before, and that allows you to experience the world in a whole new way.
But then you want to wear sunglasses. Or go for a run. You find yourself wanting to see clearly — but not necessarily wanting to wear your glasses. Enter: contact lenses.
Because the lens sits directly on your eye, it can go with you anywhere and stick with you through virtually any activity.
That said, contact lenses aren’t right for everyone. While they offer the vast majority of people an alternative to glasses, some people should skip them.
To help you find out if you can wear contact lenses, our team is here at our Benjamin Optical offices throughout New York City. So you can come in feeling informed, let’s look at who can generally wear contact lenses — and who probably shouldn’t.
When contact lenses are a good option
Most people can safely wear contacts. Even issues that used to be a problem in the past aren’t anymore. Take astigmatism, for example. When you have this eye condition, the curvature of your cornea isn’t even. Now, experts have developed contact lenses that can fit the unique curvature of an eye with astigmatism, allowing people with this eye condition to wear contacts.
Similarly, dry eyes used to make contact lenses uncomfortable for some people. Fortunately, water-gradient lenses that you dispose of daily can alleviate this issue in many cases.
Ultimately, there’s a high likelihood that you can wear contact lenses. Talk with our team at Benjamin Optical and we can pinpoint any potential obstacles and work with you to overcome them.
When you might need to stick with glasses
All of this said, there are a few specific instances in which we might recommend that you don’t wear contact lenses.
Usually, we make this suggestion because something else is going on with your eye or the surrounding area.
People with blepharitis usually have a hard time wearing contacts comfortably, for example. Blepharitis affects your eyelids, causing symptoms like swelling and redness. Fortunately, living with this condition doesn’t mean you can never wear contacts. It just means we generally recommend sticking with glasses while we treat your eyelids. Once they’re healthy, we can then work with you to find the right contact lenses.
The big dealbreaker for contact lenses is severe eye allergies. While daily-wear lenses can minimize the amount of allergens that stick to the lens — and, as a result, your eye — people with a strong allergic reaction may need to choose glasses over contact lenses.
Ultimately, we can explore different lens types with you to find the best fit for your unique eye. And that means that in most cases, you’ll be able to comfortably wear contact lenses. To find out if contacts are right for you, call any of our offices or book an appointment online.