COL comparision: eye surgery vs contact lenses vs eyeglasses

[lillo9546]

Hi there!
It would be awesome to bring to the table a discussion, and a comparision, of how our eyes problems impact our Cost of Living, given our favourite choice of technology.

In my knowledge, we have 3:
- Eyeglasses
- Contact Lenses
- Permanent Eye surgery

I am not a matematician or someone able to grasp the right elements to bring to the formula for a complete evaluation, but since I have to deal with this illness, this make me think about:
- Versatility/Permanence or ability to come back to previous state. (you can always replace an eyeglasses/contact lenses if anything goes wrong, while atm, I don't know that is possible to replace something to fix your permanent eye surgery).
- Side Effects (Like daily pain and chores)
- Economic cost (Buy cost + Frequency + Maintenance)
- Quality output (Clear vision without undesirable effects such as dry eye, reflections, contrast reflection, distorsion, night lights, etc..)
- Appearence output (For someone who hate glasses because of the distorsion on his face, or limited view range, or just to wear em)

Which would be the correct formula to evaluate it?
I report some data from my country:
- A new pair of glasses, for me, cost 300/400€, and I usually replace it every 2 to 3 years. Zero maintenance.
- A new pair of contact lenses, for me, cost 500/600€, for a year. (usually it's a 30piece box with 40 to 50 euros price per month). Zero maintenance but you may need eye drop right?
- A surgery costs about €5000/6000. I am not aware about the threathments you would need in order to "mantain" the eye healty but I suspec you would need to see the surgeon at least 2 times a year (€150x2), and use some special eye drops or contact lenses (extra €200 a year?)

[Chris]

Glasses are the easy to buy while traveling. If you can escape Luxotica's market dominance, you'll save ~70%.

Surgery can also be done abroad at a savings, though people may be more squeamish about that.

[Scott 2]

Agreed, look at why your glasses are so expensive. Costco eye exam plus Zenni was my strategy for this year.

Eye exam was around $100, including the high res picture of the iris. I see this as a standard part of healthcare, like getting a physical.

The most expensive pair of glasses - prescription sun glasses with anti fog and anti glare coating - was $90.

Simple glasses are doable well under $50, via Zenni.


I'm looking into more complex problems with my binocular vision these days. This lead me to vision therapy as another corrective option. I've limited experience so far, but how we see is much more complex than 20/20.

https://www.seevividly.com/info/Binocul ... ual_Skills

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_therapy

[zbigi]

- A new pair of glasses, for me, cost 300/400€, and I usually replace it every 2 to 3 years.

Why are replacing them so often? A pair lasts me at least 6 years. The key is to not rub the lenses too hard while cleaning, as this will abrade the antiglare coat and also scratch the lens.

[Frita]

+1 to Zenni. We have had our eye exams at Walmart. The optometrist there is retired from private practice and just doing the part of his work he enjoys a couple days a week. An appointment runs about $100. Tip: Have them measure your pupillary distance unless you want to do that yourself.

My spouse had lasik, which was enough to ditch the glasses for a few years. He now wears glasses again, just not the Coke bottles he once had. Since he has thin corneas, he cannot have surgery again. Surgery was definitely more expensive than glasses for him.

@zibigi Our prescriptions change every two or three years. When our kids were young, they prescriptions often changed every year (if not sooner!). Headaches and blurry vision aren’t worth it for us.

[CS]

With glasses you can buy differentials, i.e. lenses that are 1 to 1.5 diopters lighter in strength, for use at the computer.

What you don't want to be doing is having glasses that are great for far vision (if you're near sighted) and then using the same glasses up close. That is how vision gets progressively worse. You're changing the shape of your eyeball by trying to focus so closely with strong lenses.

This guy has a lot of great information on myopia:
Jake Steiner
https://www.youtube.com/@endmyopia

If you're patient, you can get most everything free by watching his videos.

+1 for Zenni. Love that place. You can have them print the eyeglass strength on the inner arm so you can tell immediately what it is instead of trying to remember what you ordered. (Or maybe that's just a me problem.)

[Lemur]

I’ve always felt that laser eye surgery is an asymmetric risk not worth taking but that is just my personal opinion.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_i ... extraction

Is the latest tech to cure myopia / astigmatism. Seems pretty non-invasive…would be interesting to know the stats of say 10,000 procedures.

[guitarplayer]

- A new pair of glasses, for me, cost 300/400€, and I usually replace it every 2 to 3 years. Zero maintenance.

Don't take for granted the need to replace unless you are sure it is progressive. Coincidentally, I went to the optician today, for the first time in 8 years. Turns out the glasses I wear are still perfect in that my eyesight has not worsened a jot.

Also, got the glasses (and another pair) in a '2nd one for free' deal for something like 80 Euro for two pairs. You are not a mathematician but you can do the numbers here

[Laura Ingalls]

I am another member of team Zenni. I like the “try on” feature as it gives me a better idea of how it looks than trying on lensless glasses in a physical store.

Zenni has a good reward program too. My last order I got a pair of progressives for myself and a pair of prescription readers for DH. It was my birthday month and I got 15% off and free shipping. DH had smashed his glasses up. I didn’t even need them but I ordered a new pair and when I am ready I just get them out of the drawer I stored them in. $53 was the grand total.

I also dislike how glasses (and smart phones cases) yellow/change color over time. I would rather swap them out sooner vs later.

My mid-20’s experiment with contacts was that they weren’t for me. Everyone I know that has had LASIK or similar has gone back to glasses eventually. I don’t see the point.

I plan on staying the course of an exam every 2-3 years and new glasses from about every 18 months. My insurance the past several years has covered exams but not glasses or contacts. Total average yearly cost $35-50. Actually, something that has got cheaper in my lifetime.

[Viktor K]

Also for contacts, I have a friend who wears contacts at night to sleep, then takes them off in the morning. This corrects their vision for the rest of the day. I hadn't heard of this technology before learning about it from her.

I had a grandmother, prolific talented landscape painter, who went blind in both eyes after a botched Lasik back in the early 90s or 80s. That, plus the idea that your vision can just regress back in a few years, keeps me in monthly contacts when doing sports or social. Otherwise I wear glasses at home or for running errands. Contacts are more comfortable and I feel more confident in them.

The cost over 1 year is nothing. So for me, it is mostly the risk/reward, because otherwise I'd probably go for Lasik just for convenience.

[The Old Man]

Eye Surgery: I had Radial Keratotomy, an eye surgical procedure that is now obsolete. It worked well. I now wear glasses for reading, but do not need glasses for distance vision. Delayed the need for glasses by about twenty years. There were no additional costs for follow-up doctor visits, eye drops, etc.

Back then I was more trusting of the medical establishment. Today, I would recommend a more cautious approach. Given the risks involved, albeit small, I think it would be best to pass on the surgical option.

Go for surgery if there are occupational or other practical reasons, something more than cosmetic. While Lasik is popular, occupational/practical requirements may dictate another procedure which should be researched.

[PhoneticNachos]

Anyone else see that cringe scam "miracle stem cell" vision cure-all on youtube?