Glasses wearers - give me your best advice!

[Letsallscreamatthesistene]

Hello! Im gettig my eyes tested tomorrow and im pretty confident im going to need glasses. This is fine, I dont mind at all. Its dawned on me though that I dont know the first thing about glasses - is there anything I should know? Should avoid? Any brands that are great? Is it worth buying expensive ones or are cheapy ones just as good?

@Letsallscreamatthesistene

Ok thanks everyone. Ill wait to see what my prescription is, but basically I cant see street name signs, or for example read the name on the cereal box if im stood the other side of the kitchen - the letters look all fuzzy. Does it sound like ill be wearing them all the time?

Yes. Because once you've got them, you'll realise how bad your sight is every time you're not wearing them. At the moment it's happened gradually and has become your "normal", so it's not bothering you. You might not need them for reading.

React to lights sound like a good plan but they don't react in your car very well and they go dark even on a cloudy day outside and then take ages to go clear when you go inside. Better to get a pair of prescription sunglasses

I agree. The polarization ones react to UV light not just ordinary daylight. Car windows have a UV filter built in that's why the glasses don't darken enough, so if you want them for driving definitely get separate sunglasses.

I had my first pair of glasses in February- a day after my 48th birthday!! For distance.

Think I had been driving for a while thinking things were a bit blurry but perhaps I'm just tired

The 1st pair I got that I wear the most were a cheap red pair from vision express.

I've got 3 more pairs since and like a PP said, some of the plastic ones slide down. I have a lovely green pair from Ace and Tate but they don't stay on my nose very well. Perhaps they just need tightening?

Try loads on and get a cheap pair to start with. I love wearing mine - but then it's only been 8 months and I think they are still a novelty

Lightweight ones if you can, because heavy ones can be a bit uncomfortable.

Beware of the blatant upselling that will inevitably happen. Be prepared to be blindsided by all the extras that you really don't need.
Thin lenses for example - if you are only just needing to wear glasses I doubt your prescription will mean thick lenses so normal lens will be just fine.
Anti glare, anti scratch, anti everything will be thrown at you. And then there are the buy one pair get another pair half price offers. Or the free prescription sunglasses when you spend more money ...

Good luck

This was me last year and your sight sound similar to mine. I wear my glasses for driving, at work in meetings when looking a presentations across the other side of the room and when out and about when I want to appreciate a long range view.

I don't wear them all the time, but I tend to wear them at some point every day.

Tbh I went in deep and bought v expensive designer frames. Not for the brand (oh no not me 😜) but because I liked the shape/colour the best of the many, many I tried (this is actually true).

I'm still really happy with them.

My advice. Think about what colours and jewellery you wear. All my jewellery is gold (suits my colouring) so I ruled out silver frames on that basis alone.

Equally I suit and tend to wear warmer tones, so I discounted cooler colours like blue/grey etc that wouldn't really work well with my colouring or clothing.

Then try on everything. Some frames on display come in other colours for example so be mindful of the above but don't assume the selection displayed is all that's available.

It's especially important to try on glasses you think you won't like/won't suit you.

It's surprising how differently glasses look on your face to what you might suppose.

Where they hit your eyebrows for example, the width, depth can make a big difference to your facial appearance.

What I ended up with is nothing like I'd envisaged when I started choosing and I nearly passed by trying them on, but when I did I really liked them.

My process was try and then it's a No or Maybe. When I'd tried everything I had 6 Maybe's and it was surprisingly easy to choose from that point.

The ones I ended up with I just kept going back to and comparing the other Maybe's with them until they were a Yes.

Finally don't be rushed into a decision - (especially if you're shelling out on expensive frames but in general anyway if your going to be wearing them a lot). If your not sure then I'd recommend you try somewhere else and/or take time out and come back another day.

Glasses are all about the lenses. Pay for good lenses with appropriate non scratch coating. Best lenses in my experience are Zeiss and Essilor. Nikon comes third. Anything else I have had scratches easily and the coating degrades too quickly.

Frames are a very individual thing, how they sit on your ears and nose. Also maybe consider getting fitted for contact lenses. As PP suggested glasses and masks are a nightmare and contacts have really helped me when I know I will be wearing a mask for longer periods.

Sorry just to add, I declined getting prescription sunglasses at half price at the time and I really regret it.

Because I need them for driving it's a real PITA on a sunny day and I'm now looking at buying some but probably at a higher cost than if I'd bought them at the same time as my main pair.

Get a pair of sunglasses in the 2 for 1 deal with a chunky plastic pair of specs for every day. No nose pieces. They bend and snap off!!
Prescription shades are the best money I have ever spent!! Had the same frames reglazed a few times now!
I get Marc Jacobs frames..

Buy lots of regular, rather than designer pairs. That way you have one on, one near the TV, one in the car and one in your bag.

I have two pairs of Ted Baker frames though: plastic, fixed nose and so far industuctible. I have sat and stood on them.

My optician said depending on your type of nose you will need different glasses. Apparently if you have a low bridge then you need pads to support the glasses on your nose. Glasses without pads are for noses with a high bridge. People with wide noses need glasses with a wider bridge. Of course you can pick what you want but they might not fit your nose properly.

If you drive, take public transport to your eye test appointment! Ask them if you're legal to drive without glasses. If you really can't read the brand on a cereal box from across the room, it's unlikely you are. You won't be going home with glasses on the day even if you purchase there and then, you'll collect them a few days later.

If you sit/stand on metal framed glasses, don't bin them! Take them to an optician. They can heat them up and straighten them out for you. Even if they're not quite perfect afterwards, they'll do as a spare.

I clean the fiddly bits occasionally with an old soft toothbrush and warm water.

You can get anti fog cleaning wipes so that you won’t be fogged up every time you wear a mask. Opticians and pharmacies sell them.

When you're trying them on, smile as this can change the shape of your cheeks and they might not sit as well on your face when smiling as with a neutral expression. And shake your head around a bit to see if they slip down. Try on as many pairs as possible, and as per previous comments a second pair and / or sunglasses are really useful

If you’re short sighted, meaning you need glasses to see things clearly at distance, and you drive, get a pair of prescription sunglasses. They are amazingly good, I wouldn’t be without mine.

They shouldn't slip down once they've been made up with your lenses and measured/fitted to your ears. So try them on again when you collect and if they slip down have the optician adjust them again. Lazy places will pinch them in at the nose to grip your head, which never works long term, they need to be fitted to your ears to stay on your face properly.

@CocksAndKnobbers

I get mine from goggles4u, they have a try on function on their website and you can get a paid of perfectly good glasses for 30 quid

Seconded. I just got a pair of strong prescription varifocals for less than £30. I used to get metal framed glasses from the optician but used Gogglea 4 U to get a cheapo plastic pair to wear on holiday in case I dropped them in the sea or something. 😁 Now I use G4U all the time,

@daisypond

See my post above re Goggles 4U. My eyesight is atrocious (faces are just blobs unless person is within 6 feet). I also have astigmatism and have worn glasses since I was a teenager.

Check out the Offers section to see what deals are on. I got my varifocals at 60% off.

I’ve given up with the expensive designer ones, all one ones I’ve had have had in the past have literally fallen apart in less than a year. There are plenty of websites you can get glasses from (Firmoo, glassesdirect for example) you just need your prescription. Hope this is useful

I would suggest getting two pairs if you can afford to do so, so you can have one (slim, light) pair in your handbag. When you're not used to glasses and don't need them all the time it's very very easy to turn up to work/the cinema/events without them. Even if you're quite new to wearing them, you'll probably really miss them once you get used to being able to see in high def.

I have always bought glasses on the cheaper side (£20-£60) and have never had a problem despite the fact I wear them all the time these days.

Take heed from a great boob l made on a warm day last summer! Don’t use the bottom of your T shirt to clean your glasses if you haven’t got a bra on! 😂

Glasses that sit too close to your face mist up more easily - try them on with a mask to check this (as well as without).

If you're having trouble reading street signs or across a room, that sounds like wearing glasses all the time will be necessary. If you strain your eyes trying to focus on stuff you can't see easily, it can make the nearsightedness worse, so wearing the glasses will be worth it for saving your vision over the long term.

You can do virtual try on with some optician websites before you go, to get an idea of frames and what styles might suit you.

Definitely do a deal that helps you spring for a second pair. Besides being able to change up styles, the spare pair is handy if you break or lose the first.

I have the thinner lenses, blue light coating, and anti fog on my newest ones. So far, I don't really rate the anti fog. The other two are worth the extra, for me. I got the blue light filter because I work at a computer, the TV is constantly on, I live on my phone, and it gets dark after lunchtime where I am.

I also find plastic frames far more comfortable, compared with metal. Nose pads that dig into my nose give me a headache after awhile.

When you collect your glasses, the staff can make a few tweaks to adjust the frames to your head. You want them to be secure enough that they won't fall off your face when you look down, but not so tight that they squeeze your temples or behind your ears.

I definitely recommend going with titanium frames as they're so light and don't indent your nose.