We talk about this every once in a while.  Should you use contact lenses while in front of the computer?  

There’s no one answer to work for everybody.

If you are a low myope, and spend all day in front of a computer, it’s a no-brainer.  Glasses, not contact lenses.  The whole benefit of contact lenses, having a wider field of view, completely unused during close-up.  The other reason to wear contact lenses, to have more freedom in various not-glasses-friendly situations, also not applicable.

So then all you have left is the downside of contact lenses.  Interrupted tear fluid distribution, and risk of scratching your cornea.   Why would you wear contact lenses for close-up?

It’s a different thing altogether if you’re mostly using distance vision and just the occasional close-up.  Then it makes sense to just leave the contact lenses in, and ideally pop a one diopter plus lens (or more) on top of that, to get rid of some of that pesky high-risk hyperopic defocus you’d otherwise be dealing with (and progressive, lens-induced myopia with it).  

There’s also the high-myope question.  Maybe you really don’t do well with glasses, due to the high diopter correction.  Maybe you’re working on improving your eyesight and spending hundreds of dollars every few months on high index prescription reductions isn’t your idea of being frugal.  Then too maybe contact lenses are a good idea, at least for a while.

Flip side, high diopter correction means thicker contact lenses, which just means higher risk of corneal scratches, and higher degree of tear fluid disruption.

See what I mean?  There’s definitely no one simple answer on the topic.  

I really like contact lenses, of the reduced prescription variety, for distance vision.  Especially for high myopes that’s a brilliant way to keep your peripheral vision, get good optical quality, and budget friendly options for ongoing prescription reductions.  But whenever I see indiscriminate use of contact lenses for 10 hour days in front of a computer, I think … your poor eyes.  Somebody should offer you a bit of a chat about this topic.

Video edit:

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Give it a thumbs up, yea?  Every bit helps!

Housekeeping:  I’ll be in airports most of the day tomorrow.  Word tour stop, Tokyo.  This could mean a potential missed day in the daily blog, somewhat possibly.  

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From the personal Instagram which you are wise not to follow.  

Six hour flight, a whole lot of days of not seeing the little one.  Slightly torn on new adventures these days. 

Cheers,

-Jake