Vision Correction with Glasses, Lenses, Lasik
Good Eye Care for Healthy Longterm Vision and Preserving Your Sight
Nov 13, 2008
Men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses. Not true. Of men surveyed by Vision Council of America (VCA), 92% said women in fashionable eyewear are attractive. Women feel the same way about men in specs.
You can choose eyeglasses or contact lenses to bring vision back near 20/20 and it’s entirely possible to cure many seeing issues once thought to be permanent. Doctors can fix cataracts and glaucoma more effectively than ever before. Though there are vision problems that can’t be cured, many can be treated or arrested if caught early. Bottom line – beautiful eyes begin with healthy eyes.
Beauty Is as Beauty Does
Eye docs say great nutrition and healthy lifestyle affect eyes and regular annual checkups is the way to go.
Essentials for protecting eyes:
- Wear UV-blocking sun glasses all the time. Encourage children to do the same.
- Use safety glasses anytime your eyes are at risk
- Never let an unqualified person fit you with contact lenses - see a doctor.
- Follow doctor's instructions with contacts or eye solutions - to the letter.
- Tell your doctor about any change in your vision.
Repairing Vision - Permanently
Don’t want glasses or lenses? You can consider Lasik surgery, laser-assisted, out-patient procedure that can repair vision for life.
Dr. George Thurber, MD, with the Center for Eye Care, Biloxi, MS says all Lasik isn’t the same. Equipment and process have improved. Expect to pay $1600 to $2000 per eye for top-quality, most insurance won’t cover it. But that price point ensures minimal risk of halo-vision, starburst images or other imperfections, once common. With computer-aided mapping of your eye and today’s lasers, 95% of patients have zero side effects and permanent correction.
Lasik is simple for the patient, says Thurber. A few seconds per eye, after initial consulting. You focus on a small red light - lasers painlessly remove microscopic cornea layers. Men and women, in general good health, from about age 18 to 70-something, are opting for Lasik, with great results.
Eyewear and Your Personality
Some people prefer glasses. That can be a wonderful enhancement of your looks and personality statement. Frame design follows ready-to-wear clothing trends and nothing is more stylish than strutting your own stuff. New, surprising materials are on the scene. Everyone is accessorizing, according to Susan Martonik, spokesperson for VCA.
“The coolest thing is matching frames to fashion or function - a wardrobe of multiple pairs. It’s about eclectic individual style. Make a statement that’s all you,” she says.
Martonik sees women wearing flirty feminine frames for social or dress up events, chic designer frames for business and casual glasses everyday. Men choose stronger designs for rough sports, technologically enhanced eyewear like stylish safety glasses for on-the-job needs, and reds or brighter blues and sexier greys for social occasions.
Putting the Right Frames on your Face
If they don’t suit your face, frames won’t enhance your style. You could spend hours agonizing over every frame on those racks upon racks at the store, or you could go online and prescreen basic shapes and styles, right on your own face. Googling for “virtual eyeglass try on” will net you a number of options. Try framesdirect.com/framefinder for starters. You load a photo of yourself, then swap frames.
Experts say choices are almost unlimited and new frames come out every day. There’s a growing popularity with prescription sunglasses and designer frames for shades are another way to express yourself and perk up your look.
For some people, surgery doesn’t appeal and wearing glasses isn’t right either. Contact lenses are getting better and more comfortable than ever before. Lenses come in an array of colors and there are even special effects lenses. If you have the budget, they’re out there. Treat your eyes well – you don’t get second chances.
