Just a little pole question to get people talking...

I wear them and bloody hate it... I am 16 and have just one pair of regular eyeglasses but now the ski season has started so I am going to have to buy ski goggles with my prescription... their already expensive and now probably double the cost. Also sunglasses another big spender...

Never realized how many things we put over our eyes... Plus I am going to need safety goggles for my new job and I wanted to start scuba diving so I need scuba goggles... Getting expensive...

Do any of you wear glasses and end up spending a lot of money on specialty eye wear?

Glasses make excellent props.
John

Yes.

At 60+ now I have "specs". Cheap reading glasses.

I don't need other for distance, etc.

One can always get goggles and sunglasses that fit over a regular set of
prescription glasses to keep those costs down.

Or just wind up the thrill, and "ski blind?"

(argh)

I guess I should mention I'm an oft time user of many magnifying lenses for close work.
And I do "Ctrl" key and "mouse wheel" up the Firefox to avoid using the "specs" = Bigger print.

I've worn glasses since I was in 6th grade. I'm not as active as some, especially since I'm only 27, so I don't need much as far as specialty glasses. However, due to my Rx, my glasses run into the hundreds of dollars, just for a basic pair of lenses! However, contacts might be an easier way to go if you are skiing, scuba diving, etc. Just be sure to get polarized sunglasses to keep the snow glare from blinding you. If you need advice as far as what type of lenses you might need before you go in to get them, pls feel free. I'm an ABO certified optician in the US.

I was always told that contacts might not be the best idea for scuba diving because of the pressure differences...

I contacts don't really interest me because I don't really like the idea and the hassle of having something stuck to my eye...

About the goggles that go over glasses... My mom has a pair of them and I find them very uncomfortable because they block some of your peripheral vision so you can't see all that well on the sides...

I have better than 20/20 vision. So nope I dont wear glasses.

Yes I wear glasses, for distance and near. Without them I almost cannot see anything.
Regards,
Darthy

I have glasses, and have worn them since 2nd grade. I usually stick to contacts, though, unless it's the weekend or some time where i'm just chilling.

I've had to wear glasses since high school & it has never bothered me! My eyes aren't bad enough (yet) that I need to wear them all the time, but it wouldn't bother me if I had to.
My mom and I have the same prescription and, since she scratched up my glasses, I use hers whenever I need to (which is not very often).

Good point about the pressure differences. As far as being a pain to put in, etc., it isn't too bad once you get used to it, unless you live in a very dry climate or work/live in an air conditioned area a lot. To each his own, however. A small word of advice, where ever you go to get your diving lenses made, be sure to speak to a certified optician, as your mask will move the lenses farther from your eye than your glasses, thus changing the effective power of the lenses.(Think of a magnifying lens being moved back and forth and you'll get the idea.) You'll probably have to find someone who does diving lenses on a regular basis anyway, but it never hurts to be sure. gk

You forgot to put "sometimes" on your poll, I wear cheap reading glasses since I've gotten older. Up until 5 years ago I didn't need glasses at all.

Wow most people wear glasses. Thats surprising.

I've worn glasses for 35 years and possibly longer, since I was 4 or 5. I'm legally blind without them: can't even see the big letter E on the eye charts.

One of the problems I've found with goggles over glasses is that the glasses steam up inside the goggles.

I have found sun-glasses that clip on the glasses which work fine for me. I have to be sure to get ones that will work with my thick lenses though.

I have two pairs of glasses - one set for near work and one set for distance. I can do near work with my distance glasses, but it is more of a strain.

I've tried contact lenses, and while having the peripheral vision in focus is great, it is too much of a hassle for me, and then I find that I have to wear sun-glasses almost constantly to protect my eyes from the light and the wind.

If I were ever to do a lot of swimming, I'd need to get prescription swimming goggles.

I love the way the christmas tree lights look without my glasses. Big, over-lapping, sparkling, glowing, colored balls of light from all around the tree. The tree itself simply disappears. I hope someday to take a picture of it so that the picture looks like what I see. I'd have to use manual focus and probably with a wide-angle close-up lens.

Orange Blossom

I wear glasses for reading, viewing my computer screen and working with small items. After my transplant operation I had to take high doses of Prednisone for two years. This caused subcapsular cataracts to form which blur my vision.

I wear glasses since the age of 6 and never have tried contact lenzes. I can not do anthing without them. Once when I was visiting a boat offshore the wind caught the glasses and took them. You should have seen the eyes of the police when they stopped me for wearing sunglasses at 2300 hours driving home in midst of december

i wear glasses, and i have since the fourth grade. my current ones are a very snazzy purple color.

I love that one

But one thing that is nice is before not so many people wore them... so in school their we're maybe 2-3 people that wore them and sadly they sometimes got picked on for them... Now when I look around in my classes their is about 5 that don't wear them... So it's a lot more accept which is nice

I wear contacts and chose them over glasses because I work for a private utility company in Louisiana where it can get down right hot during the summertime and since I work outside the majority of the time, it is a big pain in the butt keeping your glasses clean of sweat, grease and dirt when working around machinery. Contacts are more easily maintained and I get to wear those stylish safety glasses that the company buys for us

Approximately 2/3 of the world's population wears eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Same here, Klinkaroo. The only kids that wore glasses when I was in school were the 'nerdy kids' and they always got picked on. Now it seems more 'socially acceptable' to wear glasses (either that or the 'bullies' have gone blind since as well ). I always wanted to wear glasses, ever since I was a kid (I was a weird kid I guess, and haven't actually grown out of that weird phase ), I used to steal my mom's pair. And now I have to wear glasses in order to see some things.

Used to wear them but they became too restrictive, i play a lot of sport. so i went for contacts, which are good unless they fall out - not good for spacial awareness.
i ended up (after months of saving / plucking up the courage) going for laser eye surgery. best thing i ever did

Yeah my grandma did laser eye surgery and now she does not have to wear glasses. Maybe sometimes when she reads but it used to be all the time.

Like CGMs Grandma, I too had laser surgery three years ago,and went from being almost legally blind to, Wow I can see without my glasses/contacts!!!
Was probably the best gift I every gave myself.

Curious about the laser surgery (can you tell I'm dithering about having it done? ) ...

How soon after surgery could you see perfectly? No infections or anything? (Survived years of the mean old 'hard' contacts before the softies came on the market and this surgery really does sound wonderful and I'm ever so tempted).

Well MaraM,after the 15 minute procedure,you can see without your glasses right away,but it takes about 36-48 hours for your vision to be at 100%.

I was overly careful when it came to infection prevention measures...and it paid off. My younger sister was not so careful and she did get a wee infection. Did not affect her sight tho.
If you live in Vancouver,you have some of the very best surgeons/clinics around,IMHO.

Thanks TMack - off to do some research on the surgeons available in my area (and yes, I live in Vancouver, that poor wind-storm affected area of our country!).

Thanks so much!

You're Welcome and Good Luck with this!