Shed the Everyday Inconveniences of Glasses

For hundreds of years, glasses have been the primary solution to visual errors such as myopia (short-sightedness) and hyperopia (long-sightedness). They have been invaluable in allowing countless individuals to go about their days with relative ease – at least compared to if they had no visual aids!

However, the fact is that glasses are far from being the perfect solution to refractive errors. While they might be effective at correcting your vision, there are a number of everyday inconveniences that can leave you feeling deflated and outright frustrated.

There’s no wonder, then, that tens of millions of people around the world have opted to have Laser Eye Surgery, potentially freeing them from the shackles for years to come. But what are these inconveniences we speak of? And how can Laser Eye Surgery help?

Braving the Changing Weather

In the UK, the weather often changes unpredictably from day to day – and even from hour to hour! These shifting temperatures, as well as the chance of rainfall, can be all too effective at reminding us of the visual aids glued to our faces.

While a sudden shower can leave you struggling to see through your spotted lenses, warm temperatures can leave you sweaty and uncomfortable around the nose pads. Even cold temperatures come with their struggles; when was the last time your glasses fogged up after walking in from the cold air outside? We’re betting, not that long ago!

The Constant Instability

Above, we mentioned sweaty nose pads in high temperatures. But it’s not just on warm days that your glasses can cause discomfort for your nose. After all, our noses weren’t evolved for propping up visual aids, regardless of how much we might need them!

As a result, a day – or even just a few hours or minutes! – wearing glasses can add unwanted pressure to your face. And even when you’re able to take them off, there’s bound to be evidence that they were there. Often your eye will be drawn to the two red marks and possibly even bruises where the nose pads were in contact with your face.

And it’s not just your nose you have to worry about. Whether you’re driving, playing with the kids, or simply walking down the street, glasses are constantly shifting, meaning you always have to have one eye on them, no matter what you’re doing. And on top of all that, unstable glasses mean another thing: Lots of face touching!

Navigating Morning Disorientation

The one time you can be sure you won’t need your glasses is when you’re sleeping. This is the one time of the day that you can fully relax without having to worry about your spectacles. But this bliss isn’t meant to last. Soon, you will have to wake up and deal with the daily morning disorientation.

For some, even finding their glasses in the morning can be a struggle. And if they can’t be located on the bedside table, this means simply getting dressed, making your way to the bathroom, and brushing your teeth can all be a struggle. Of course, the alternative is spending the next half an hour fumbling around the house trying to remember where you left them while thinking, “If only I had my glasses, I could see properly and find them.”

Perhaps you forgot you pushed them up onto your head. The last thing you want is to lift a top over your head and forget you’re wearing your specs. No doubt, many pairs are flung across the room and broken this way every day…

Replacing Lost Pairs

There is no guarantee you will find those elusive specs, either. Perhaps you really did leave them in that restaurant or on the back seat of a taxi. One thing is for certain: anyone who wears glasses will have had to fork out for a replacement pair after having them “disappear” or become damaged from any one of countless activities or accidents.

The fact is that glasses aren’t the most robust items. After all, they have to be slender and light enough to sit relatively comfortably on your face. Over time, light damage can add up, leading to trips to the opticians and yet more money being spent on replacing lost and broken frames.

Poor Hygiene

While for some, glasses can have quite a short lifespan, at other times, they may be left gathering dust for long periods.

You may have multiple pairs scattered around the house for convenience (and to soften the blow when you inevitably lose a pair). This system might work well until you notice all the dust and grime that has gathered on your specs since you last wore them.

Glasses can be magnets for dust, debris, and bacteria, and, as they are designed to sit on your face – and close to your eyes, no less – this isn’t great news for your hygiene.

For instance, the rims of glasses can especially act as transporters for bacteria to get from a surface to a human host. That’s why glasses wearers often get spots and redness developing under the bottom rim on their cheeks.

Physical Limitations

Glasses can be essential for performing many tasks. Whether you need them for reading and writing or to see clearly into the distance, they can often be a necessity. But for some kind of activities, they can only be described as a hindrance.

Sports and exercise are great examples of this burden. Wearing glasses can get in the way of countless physical activities, from cycling and running to yoga, swimming, and martial arts. The fact is, glasses are fragile and unstable visual aids, and they are not designed for movement or any degree of physical activity.

The Mental Burden

When you thought you were simply getting a device to improve your vision, you likely didn’t expect to have to deal with all these niggling problems. With all these inconveniences, the biggest problem with glasses may well be the mental burden they place on wearers.

Over time, your glasses may even affect other areas of your life, without you even realising. You may find that you become less spontaneous, avoiding daring activities for fear of losing or breaking your glasses. Or you may simply be more cautious and apprehensive about trying new things.

In this way, glasses may change the way you see the world – beyond their job of improving your vision! That’s a significant side effect of something that once seemed so insignificant.

Glasses have been improving people’s vision for hundreds of years, but that doesn’t mean they will fit in with your lifestyle. If you’re interested in ditching the glasses and contact lenses, get in touch with one of our friendly clinic coordinators or Book a Consultation today to find out if Laser Eye Surgery could be an option for you.