Are Glasses Worth It?

A question from our forum:

I have 20/25 vision in one eye and 20/30 in the other along with mild astigmatism. This explains why I have so much trouble seeing things at a distance, especially in school...Taking notes is quite hard for me because first of all, being 25-30 feet away from the board isn't uncommon, and second of all, there's the constant shift of focus from the board to the paper.

So anyway, the doctor noted that without a prescription I was clearly struggling, but with one, I could read with both speed and accuracy, and said that it was up to me whether I wanted to go for glasses or not...And since I'm sick and tired of not being able to see lots of things I want to, I was like, yeah, let's do it.

Well, my mom thinks that I'm just making this an excuse to get glasses because I want them.

My question is, is it unreasonable of me to want her to pay for them since I can see better with them?

Answer from the eye doctor:

No, it is not unreasonable. As long as your refractive error/prescription is of a significant amount and it really decreases your symptoms...then it is absolutely worth it! Parents of children I see in the office always ask this question before they spend anywhere from $150 to $350 on their children's glasses. I always make my recommendations as if the patient were my own child.

Is this expensive? Not in my opinion. First, you have to keep in mind that a spectacle prescription is a custom product made only for your eyes. In addtion, this is an object that you are going to wear every day for one or two years - and they actually will hold up for that long! What other item...such as jewelry, clothing or other medical device - do you spend money on that will hold up with daily abuse and correct your vision problem at the same time? I say it is money very well spent.