A Lifetime Of Glasses Or Laser Eye Surgery?

A childhood friend of my was christened early by his peers with the name of ‘foggy’, simply because his glasses would always fog up when the temperature suddenly changed. It’s a silly story, but it touches on an important point that is part of a much larger problem for the frequent glasses wearer.

Waking up to a blurry alarm clock, struggling to find where you placed them last, breaking a lens, going in for frequent eye tests, not being able to see when exercising; these are just a few more of the issues commonly associated with wearing glasses.

We would be here for hours if we went through the whole list, but that isn’t to say glasses don’t have their strong points. Much like with renting a car, they offer a great temporary solution to an immediate need. They are suitable for almost anyone, easy to change or upgrade when necessary, and are accessible to people with all types of budgets.

However, when you have a long-term need, such as getting to work everyday for the foreseeable future, renting usually isn’t the best option.

The Long Term Cost Of Glasses

The daily troubles of wearing glasses can get annoying. But when you look at their long term cost, it truly is something to worry about.

In terms of social life and health, glasses present an awkward barrier to engaging in many sports and forms of exercise; even just taking a short jog on a treadmill can raise problems for the regular gym goer. Therefore amateur sports people and enthusiasts alike tend to opt for contact lens as the next best option, but even then can run into similar issues.

Aside from the above, and the permanent marks on your nose, the main cost of glasses is monetary. In an earlier post, we calculated exactly how much you could be spending on glasses over the course of 10 years.

In the calculation, the cost of eye examinations are not included as you should have one every two years no matter if you wear contacts, glasses, or have had Laser Eye Surgery. Therefore, with the price of one pair of glasses estimated at between £250 and £500, replaced every two years, the average daily cost of wearing glasses was calculated at 34.2p per day on the low end, and 69.4p per day on the high end.

Over 10 years, that makes the cost of glasses to be £1,523.74 on the low side, and £3,047.49 on the high side (assuming a yearly inflation rate of 4.5%). This goes to show that rather than renting your vision and putting up with all the associated problems that come with it, you could actually opt for Laser Eye Surgery and own an improved level of vision, do away with all the daily hassles, and open doors to whole new opportunities, for a lot less than you would pay for glasses over a lifetime.

The great thing here is that the effects of Laser Eye Surgery last considerably longer than 10 years—they’re permanent. Slight changes may occur in your vision with age (presbyopia), but instead of upgrading to bifocals or varifocals, or getting a few pairs of reading glasses to leave around the house, adjustments can easily be made with a short alteration surgery.

Read more about treating ageing eyes (presbyopia).

With our standard treatment—suitable for most patients—costing £5,200 or £216/month, you can afford to live a life free of glasses. If you would like to book a consultation at London Vision Clinic, or find out more about the benefits of Laser Eye Surgery over glasses, leave us a comment or give us a call us on 020 7224 1005.