Contact lenses and diving -Questions Welcome - by Idocsteve

[seaducer]

I am a newbie with contacts, just got my first pair back in March. I do think I can see better with contacts as opposed to glasses, I regret waiting so long to try them. I do have some questions regarding water though...

I was surprised to learn in this thread that I may, in fact probably will not loose my soft lenses if I open my eyes underwater? I use the Acuvu Oasys lens, one for astigmatism, one not.

Ok, so saying I do open my eyes and do not lose them, how long can I safely wait before taking them out? End of day, couple hours, as soon as the dive is over? If I wait until my eyes get a little irritated, is that bad?

How long in the cleaning solution (Optifree Replenish) until I can use them again? 6 hours, overnight, couple of days? Rinse and put back in?

If I have a new pair ready to go, can I pop them in without issue, or should I stay in glasses for the rest of the day?

My eye doctor told me to replace my lenses every two weeks, and that is what I do. If I wanted to save a couple of old pairs to use in high risk applications such as diving or swimming, how long are they good for in solution?

Thanks for this thread, I wish I had found it sooner...

 

[Herk_Man]

Both of my sons use contacts when diving and they don't depart from their normal use cycle. I think sometimes the salt water requires them to put in some drops more often than usual but other than that, they follow the same schedule they would if not diving.

 

[idocsteve]

I was surprised to learn in this thread that I may, in fact probably will not loose my soft lenses if I open my eyes underwater?

You might lose them underwater, you might not. One way to find out. And bring a spare pair.

Ok, so saying I do open my eyes and do not lose them, how long can I safely wait before taking them out? End of day, couple hours, as soon as the dive is over? If I wait until my eyes get a little irritated, is that bad?

I would think about getting them out of your eyes and into some disinfecting solution as soon as it's practical..when you get back to your hotel, your house, whatever. Don't sleep in them following "seawater immersion".

How long in the cleaning solution (Optifree Replenish) until I can use them again? 6 hours, overnight, couple of days? Rinse and put back in?

I believe the various recommended disinfection times are noted on the package inserts for the various products, I don't know off the top of my head but it's not more than 12 hours.

If I have a new pair ready to go, can I pop them in without issue, or should I stay in glasses for the rest of the day?

If your eyes are not red or irritated I'd think you can put in a fresh pair immediately.

My eye doctor told me to replace my lenses every two weeks, and that is what I do. If I wanted to save a couple of old pairs to use in high risk applications such as diving or swimming, how long are they good for in solution?

Don't hold onto old contacts. Oasys sphere's are under $35 a box, torics are about double. 6 in a box, do the math, keep a few unopened pairs around.

 

[seaducer]

Thanks Steve!

 

[idocsteve]

I received the following question via personal message. Thanks to the member who sent it to me, to give me the opportunity to bump this thread.

I was recently reading about the possible dangers of wearing soft contacts in freshwater lakes,because of possible acanathamoeba infection in the eyes.

I dive in a large freshwater lake north of Atlanta.

I have worn mine for the last 10+ years and have always been very careful to rinse my eyes with fresh water after I remove my contacts after the dive and keep my eyes tightly closed if I have to clear a flooded mask.

I am due for my annual contact exam and would like to know if I continue to be careful and remove my contacts after each dive and keep the outside water from my eyes, should I be OK?

Thanks!

My response:

Not sure what you mean about "rinsing your eyes with fresh water", but you're much better off using preserved saline or dinfectant that is designed to be used in the eye, to rinse your eyes. Fresh water can contain microrganisms including the dreaded Acanthoamoeba you wrote about. As long as you remove your contacts and disinfect them with an approved solution after each dive you should be just fine.

 

[Deac in the Wake]

He must've been reading the current issue of Dive Training in which an OD writes about acanthamoeba and fresh water.

However, that doctor also writes:

"Since our current contact lens care products are not adequate to kill this parasite, disposal of the contact lens after watersports has been advocated by some."
http://dtmageditorials.blogspot.com/2010/07/buddy-lines-letters-to-editor-june-2010.html#more

Do you have an opinion on the viability of lens disinfectant regarding acanthamoeba and related parasites? Seems to me the more powerful the disinfectant, the greater the risk to the eye and lens itself.

 

[Herk_Man]

Ok, so my sons both wear contacts and we are going to be doing quite a bit of lake diving for the first time this summer. If I'm reading this correctly, immediately following the dive they should remove and rinse their contacts with solution and also irrigate their eyes with solution? But it is then safe to put the same contacts back in?

 

[idocsteve]

Do you have an opinion on the viability of lens disinfectant regarding acanthamoeba and related parasites? Seems to me the more powerful the disinfectant, the greater the risk to the eye and lens itself.

Any time a contact lens solution reps visits my office, they've got their colorful bar graph reports and copies of published articles, which unequivocally state that their solution is the BEST, far more effective and healthier for the eyes than the "other guy's" disinfectant solution.

A week later a rep from one of the other companies stops in, and you guessed it, they've got a bar graph report and a copy of a published article in an optometric journal that says THEIR solution is the best!

I tend to prescribe the contact lens solution that is made by the company that buys lunch for my office staff on a regular basis. Just kidding. Mostly.

Sure the safest thing to do would be to throw away the contact lenses after immersion in fresh water, just like the safest thing to do would be to never wear contact lenses overnight, heck while we're at it why wear lenses at all because you're only increasing the odds of an eye infection. Let's take it a bit further and suggest no one drive in a car because heck, there are some bad accidents out there!

You get the idea...

One possibility might be to have a box of daily disposables on hand even if you don't wear that type regularly and use those for diving.

My best advice would be to disinfect your contacts according to the recommended instructions for that particular solution as soon as possible after a dive, most solutions need at least 4 hours for maximum effectiveness but as stated they might not do anything for acanthoamoeba, which in fact has not been as much of a problem recently although there were bad outbreaks a few years ago when people were using regular tap water to clean their contact lenses.

 

[Darcey]

One possibility might be to have a box of daily disposables on hand even if you don't wear that type regularly and use those for diving.

This is exactly what I do. My regular contacts are 2 month wear lenses and since I have issues taking off my mask underwater and keeping my eyes closed (I can't stand being underwater and not being able to see ANYTHING) I picked my doc's brain (who thank goodness is also a diver) about daily disposables for diving when I know I'll have to demo the mask removal skill. They turned out to be about 25 cents a pair. Totally worth keeping in my dive bag, especially since I can SEE students now to make sure they're paying attention.

 

[dheeney]

I'd sure like your professional opinion of my eye situation as it pertains to scuba diving. I've been diving since 1973. No vision problems for many years....but alas as I've aged...I've aquired old people eyes......my distance vision is near perfect. My close vision requires a 2.5 correction. For several years I have used monovision contacts (ACUVUE OASYS) with great success both on land and diving. Last year I began a job with a great deal of computer work, thus requiring improvement in the mid-distance range. After experiementing with many brands of multifocal lenses, I found Cooper Vision Proclear the best fit. I now wear contacts in both eyes. Again, I have had good luck wearing them on land and diving -with the exception that this particular brand of contact rips quite easily. It's become a somewhat expensive venture.

I have tried a Sea Vision guage reader (and no contacts). Vision was good, but I found the "line of demarkation" terribly annoying. (I wonder if any manufacturers make a blended bifocal mask).

I think contacts are probably my best bet for diving.....but I can't afford my ripping CopperVision contacts. So (finally) here is my question: Would it be bad for my vision to wear:
multifocal contacts on land and monvision ACUVUE OASYS while diving. I plan on discussing it with my eye doctor at our next appointment, but I'd like your input as my eye doctor isn't familiar with scuba diving.