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Original poster

If you have bad eyesight do you take your glasses with you when wearing contacts?

110 replies

PineConeWar · 06/01/2022 10:46

I have very bad eyesight (-11) both eyes and always wear contacts when I leave the house. I also always carry my glasses with me whenever I go out in case I need to take a lens out for some reason. I usually wear hard lenses, which are more susceptible to grit etc if it's windy.
DH gets really annoyed because it means I always need to take a bag for activities where he would just take stuff in his pockets. I'm terrified of being stranded somewhere because I can't see. Wouldn't be able to drive home or even cross a road safely. Am I the only person who does this? Or is it something everyone with bad eyesight does?

OP posts:
BHX3000 · 06/01/2022 13:47

Even if you have soft lenses, things can happen to them. They can slide and get stuck, or they become uncomfortable after prolonged wearing.

Yes but when nothing has happened in over a decade, something tells me chances are quite small I will encounter an issue like that.

Do people carry a spare set of underwear, shoes, clothes, in case something happens to them, everywhere they go? Spare keys, spare ID, spare everything?

iguanadonna · 06/01/2022 13:48

Spare lenses in car and in handbag. My sight isn't as bad as yours.

V sensible to take glasses. You'd be royally stuck on a ski slope without them.

Could you get a small pair in a neat little hard case so can put in jacket?

MrsWooster · 06/01/2022 13:50

Pre laser surgery, I always did. Especially skiing, funnily enough, or similar outdoor stuff when there was a real panic feeling around being marooned. It was one of the main factors in going for the surgery in the end.

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RaraRachael · 06/01/2022 13:51

My prescription is -12 and -15 and I always take glasses with me when wearing lenses. As PP said, I wouldn't be able to find my way anywhere if I lost a lens or had a problem with one.

It's a family joke now that when my son was little, we were at a big swimming pool and I was waiting at the bottom of a slide for him and wasn't even sure if was my child coming down!

glimpsing · 06/01/2022 13:52

I don't wear contacts at the moment but often take spare glasses with me plus sunglasses. My prescription is not as strong as your's either. I do think it's good, though to spend a little time with out glasses so you are not completely discombobulated- but you certainly couldn't drive! I go around the house without my glasses regularly because once when at uni I broke a pair but because I was so used to wearing them I found it very difficult without until new ones were ready. My prescription was less than it is now too!

But your DH is being too bossy. Ask him to try and wear a pair of your glasses to see how his vision is! The difference is as much as you going without them. But skiing - a hardy glasses case in your jacket pocket would be all that's required for your specs. A running belt which would hold a glasses case might work too.Smile

megletthesecond · 06/01/2022 13:53

Yes. I do when I'm driving. Although I've never lost a lens in 20yrs and my eyes aren't too bad.

FlowerFlour · 06/01/2022 13:55

Would your DH be annoyed if you needed to bring an asthma inhaler as well? Just because he can put his keys and wallet in his pockets and never consider any other eventuality he thinks everybody else is ridiculous. Yuk.

I have a low prescription (-1.5) and I always take spare glasses out with me. It's not just if a contact lenses falls out - you could suddenly get conjunctivitis or itchy eyes so have to remove your lenses immediately and can't replace them. You'd be screwed without glasses.

In some countries I believe it's mandatory for glasses wearers to have 2 sets of vision equipment (either glasses or contacts) while driving, in case something happens to one set, at least the driver would be able to see.

apinions · 06/01/2022 13:56

-7.5 and always take glasses with me. The one time I didn't I was at a party and someone bumped into my face and a lense dislodged and came out. It ruined the rest of the night as I could only see out of one eye.

I always carry a bag though anyway, and can't imagine why it affects your DH. Can you buy a jacket with bigger pockets? Or use a bum bag?

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 06/01/2022 13:57

It would be actively dangerous for me to spend "a little bit of time without glasses", even round the house. If I drop them when I reach for them in the morning I have to get one of the DC to come and pick them up for me, because I can't see where they landed.

glimpsing · 06/01/2022 14:01

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal

It would be actively dangerous for me to spend "a little bit of time without glasses", even round the house. If I drop them when I reach for them in the morning I have to get one of the DC to come and pick them up for me, because I can't see where they landed.
I can believe it! It did take training, though! At my worst my eyes were over minus 7, they are now just over minus 5. If you think about it, it is possible to get round in the dark, which I do frequently if I need the loo in the night. I find it much easier to find my glasses now than I did beforehand without them. You just look and move in a different way.
dazzlingdeborahrose · 06/01/2022 14:07

-14 and i always took glasses with me (and spare lenses). Your husband is being unreasonable but it's hard for people to get how debilitating poor sight can be. I always had spare glasses in the car - always. Note I said took and had. I took the plunge and had lens replacement surgery last year. Life changing. I still need glasses for reading but small price. I highly recommend it to anyone.

ExtremelyDetermined · 06/01/2022 14:13

The thing is for me, apart form driving I am pretty sure I could cope with only one lens temporarily for most every day situations. The chances of losing or having to remove both are infinitesimally small (my eyes never tire of them, I wear them from getting up to going to bed unless ill). I have actually got a pair in my bag at the moment as I've just changed prescription and put some unused ones in my bag. But I don't take the bag everywhere.

LBOCS2 · 06/01/2022 14:17

-6 in both eyes.

I keep a pair of glasses in the glove compartment of my car, in case something happens when I'm out - I know people say how unlikely is but I once literally rubbed my eye whilst walking down a busy street and my contact lens came out; I had no chance of finding it!

For reference, Specsavers were very accommodating in providing an 'emergency contact lens' in this situation!

HappyAsASandboy · 06/01/2022 14:19

I am only (!) -9 in each eye. I carry glasses and spare lenses in my car, and spare lenses in my bag, probably, if I have the right bag and haven't used them already.

I think I could get myself to my car without one lens, though I'd probably have to ask for help if I lost them both! Driving without lenses or glasses would be totally out of the question!

I think your DH is being insensitive. You'd be pretty disabled without your glass or lenses and would be vulnerable.

Blossom64265 · 06/01/2022 14:20

My eyes aren’t nearly that bad so I just carry spare contacts. If my vision correction were that pronounced or I wore hard lenses, I would carry glasses. I have to carry a bag anyway to bring my epipens and allergy meds so adding glasses wouldn’t be that much of a problem. I don’t just because I try to keep it as light as possible.

2022HowDoYouDo · 06/01/2022 14:24

-4.50 and I always have a spare pair of my dailies in me, and I keep a pair of glasses in the car.

Andtheyalllookjustthesame · 06/01/2022 14:30

Would you be allowed to take a bag if you had to carry an Epipen or other emergency medications with you? Or had incontinence issues and needed to bring Tena pants? Would he suggest you leave a hearing aid at home? It's really not up to him how you feel about leaving your possible ability to see at home.

Fruitinator · 06/01/2022 14:30

Mine are -4, so not as bad & wear daily disposables most days.

I keep a pair of old glasses in the car & always have spare contact lenses in my handbag, as well as at work. If we are doing an activity, such as surfing, swimming or doing a long walk I will stick my glasses in my bag.

Funnily enough I have just experimentally ordered some cheap glasses online to keep at home.

Svalberg · 06/01/2022 14:48

@BHX3000

Even if you have soft lenses, things can happen to them. They can slide and get stuck, or they become uncomfortable after prolonged wearing.

Yes but when nothing has happened in over a decade, something tells me chances are quite small I will encounter an issue like that.

Do people carry a spare set of underwear, shoes, clothes, in case something happens to them, everywhere they go? Spare keys, spare ID, spare everything?

Having a prescription worse than -10 (even in just one eye) entitles you to free eye tests and discount on spectacles. It's as much a disability as deafness and in no way should be compared to not having a spare pair of knickers or tights!

I always carry a pair of glasses with me after having to resoak a lens during my driving test when I got dust in an eye - the tester did make the recommendation at the end

Glittertwins · 06/01/2022 14:52

My eyes aren't as bad as PP but I could not legally drive if I had a problem with my lenses.
Since I rarely wear them now, they are not the exact precise prescription that I used to have in my gas permeable ones when I wore them all the time so I tend to put my glasses back on when driving in the dark, especially where the roads are not familiar.

Polmuggle · 06/01/2022 15:02

No, never.

I've been wearing contacts for 20 years and never lost one or had to take on out while out and about.

SecondhandTable · 06/01/2022 15:06

Mine are only about -3.5 but one eye has a huge astigmatism too. I feel v vulnerable and anxious when I'm in situations without them on e.g. swimming. When I wear contacts, which is just daily disposables now and again, I always always have my glasses with me. I can think of at least one occasion where a lens fell out by accident and a number of other occasions where my eyes were just getting dry and irritable and/or one of my lenses kept moving into an incorrect and awkward position so I felt more comfy just taking them out and wearing glasses. I do have a tendency for dry eyes though.

Retrievemysanity · 06/01/2022 15:08

I always have a pair of glasses in my glove box. I remember years ago being stuck in very heavy snow for hours and at one stage it looked like I wouldn’t get home that night and I was really worried about leaving my contacts in so long!

If we are on a flight, I always put glasses in my hand luggage too. However, if I was out with DH or friends, I wouldn’t take glasses with me in a bag, I’d hope they’d guide me home if necessary!

Svalberg · 06/01/2022 15:09

I'd recommend prescription goggles for swimming, they won't give you perfect vision (I've never found a lens above -10) but at least you can see the way out of the pool.

WoodSageandSeasalt · 06/01/2022 15:10

I'm -7.5 and couldn't safely drive or do much else without lenses/glasses so I always carry spares - it doesn't feel like any sort of big deal and I'm not sure how it affects your DH whether you carry a bag or not.

As an aside I've always felt a bit of a freak with my mole-like eyesight, it's reassuring to know there are so many other people with similar or worse prescriptions and the associated issues.