Glasses... eugh.

[Angilion]

That's nothing, I'm -10 in both eyes and some people on here are worse. My glasses don't cost anywhere near £400 though, more like £75.

My eyesight is rubbish at -7 and -6 (with a big side order of astigmatism on both). I don't have clear vision at all - if it's close enough to see, it's too close to focus on. -10 must be truly dire.

I got my current glasses as barter for helping an optician out with a computer problem (very generous of him - it wasn't a lot of work and they are polycarbonate lenses) but I could get a new pair for under £50, maybe as low as £20. If the OP's dad is being told he needs to pay £400 for glasses because he has a "high" prescription of -3, he's being ripped off.

If you need glasses then get some.

Agreed.

OP: Your shortsightedness may well get worse over time and stabilise at some point in the future. That's the way it works. It's not caused by wearing glasses. All you're doing by not wearing them is stopping yourself seeing properly.

 

[Angilion]

Absolutely. That's really the main thing you notice when you switch between them, for me. With contacts, you don't have to move your head as much - not that you actually really notice you have to compensate the other way when wearing glasses, though, as it just becomes normal.

The main things I noticed were:

It was a lot of bother trying to get them in and aligned at exactly the correct angle with the virtually invisible line at the top.

They didn't quite give me perfect vision.

It was a lot of bother getting them out.

I couldn't wear them for 16-18 hours a day like I do with glasses.

They cost a lot more.


So I went back to glasses. It's well worth buying a contact lens assessment and a month's trial, but they are not the perfect thing for everyone.

 

[Angilion]

I've needed glasses since somewhere in primary school and they did need changing a few times afterwards but between early teens - early twenties it's been exactly the same.

It's much to the disappointment of Specsavers and D&A who like to remind me that it's been a very long time since I last gave them any money/had an eye check.

I went in for an eye test to see if my prescription had changed at all. It's easy not to notice if your eyesight has become a little worse over a few years.

Now I have a regular check with an opthamologist at a local hospital because of the potential health problem that the optician saw during the test. There are some medical problems that can be seen during an eye test that would otherwise go unnoticed and untreated until they got worse.

I think it's worth £25 a year to have your eyes checked, just in case.