This debate could go on for a long time with some people I know, but for me the best choice when deciding between contact lenses and glasses is easy to see.

Looks are an important piece of this puzzle, of course, but I don't think I look that great in either case. With that in mind, there are two primary issues that must be considered. Both of them involve comfort.

Perhaps I am examining this subject with a closed mind, but I have absolutely no desire to stick my finger in my eyes every day to insert and remove contact lenses. Having worn glasses for 20 years, I see no reason to change.

As long as you don't misplace them in your living space, glasses can be situated properly in almost no time. No fingers in the eyes, no messy solutions; just grab and go. Instantly, your vision is improved 100 percent - assuming that your prescription is up-to-date and correct.

There are drawbacks to wearing specs, of course. The lenses get scratched up, the frames come apart sometimes, and they can get pulled or knocked off your face if you aren't careful. But the last time I checked, contacts weren't the perfect solution, either.

I have heard some awful sounds coming from people who had a piece of dirt or sand between the lens and their eyeball. People who are wearing contacts for the first time or trying a different style make some awkward and unusual faces as well. Though I have never experienced the feeling, it appears that individuals wearing contacts that have moved out of place get pretty uncomfortable, too. But even these examples are not what keeps me in spectacles.

My second primary problem with contacts involves sleep. I have known more than one contact wearer who has complained about the misery they experienced when they forgot to take out their contacts before going to bed. Listening to those individuals describe the process of "peeling" the lenses off their eyes after waking up the next morning left a significant impression that likely will never go away.

Since I am not willing to risk joining that squint-eyed society, I am not considering a switch from glasses to contacts. You see, for every smudge and scratch on my lenses, there are 100 times that I did not have to poke myself in the eye or "peel" a contact from its intended spot.

A life without drops, redness, fingerprints, and other foreign objects in my eyes makes for a vision I can live with for a very long time.

Learn more about this author, Ryan Gray.
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