Understanding Glasses And Contacts?
I am a 20 year old male going into training to be a North Carolina State Trooper. One of the requirements is to have 20/20 vision, if not naturally then with correction I recently tested at 20/25, and even though thats always been good enough for me they are still forcing me to get correction. Now I have never worn glasses or contacts, so my question actually has two parts. One, I want to keep the cost minimal when going in for my eye exam for my prescription and then afterward buying lenses and frames. I have heard that there are places with Optometrist and lense/frame facilites coupled together, where the exam is free if you buy the frames and lenses there. Where are these places? Is the Vision Center at Wal-Mart one of them? Two, should I get contacts or glasses? At least glasses would be a one time expenditure but then of course they could tell if I wasn’t wearing them, contacts I have to continue to buy, but they sure would be easy to “pretend” to wear, if you catch my drift.
October 15th, 2011 at 10:21 am
Well, you’ll have to do some shopping in your locality. I know that Wal-mart offers eye exams and a pair of glasses very cheaply. (Glasses can be less than $100, which is actually quite cheap).
As far as contacts and glasses go, it’s your call. Glasses are a lot easier to deal with than contacts, and they are certainly cheaper. Contacts can irritate your eyes, so you might find yourself switching contact brands until you get the right one. But glasses also can fog up (which can be annoying), get rained on, etc.
October 15th, 2011 at 10:28 am
I realize that glasses and contacts can be expensive, but you are looking at a position where your eyes are going to be used for more than target practice. Spend a little more than you planned to. Purchase a flex frame that will offer some bendability because you never know what situation you will be in.
If you are single vision, get Trivex lenses…better optics than polycarbonate and they offer the same in sturdiness. Also, a good anti-reflective coating for night work, and it will offer a two year guarantee against scratching.
Just my 2 cents.