Contact lenses and diving

[Darcey]

My eye doc is a diver too...which I found to be a great comfort when I was taking my OW and was asking him a million questions about "what if" with my contacts. I'm blind as a bat without them (-7.5) and the thought of losing a contact underwater scared the hell out of me. He reassured me multiple times that even if something were to happen and I were without my mask I would be able to open my eyes under water and my contacts would most likely not float out. He said that if in salt water it may be uncomfortable, but they would stay.

I found this out first hand on my 2nd OW checkout dive.

We were doing the mask clearing underwater and I had had a horrid time with it during our confined dives. I just don't like water around my eyes. Plain and simple. When I was little I had to wear goggles or else you wouldn't get me even in the water. I had to learn to deal with it though to get OW certified and am still learning to deal with it as I work my way up through Divemaster because I know I have to learn to do it with "demonstration perfection" and no "OMG THERE'S WATER AROUND MY EYES!!!". :cool2:

During my full mask flood and clear something bad happened...and I don't know if it was the extremely cold water that shocked me or if it was the fact that I was having a hard time filling my mask with 5mm gloves on or what but I took a breath in through my nose and even though I tried working through it and coughing through my reg I lost it. I threw my mask of in a panic (as if that were going to fix it!:doh2 and opened my eyes under water forgetting that I had contacts in. Long story short, I got to the surface with my dive instructor and coughed out a fish and gallon of water was shocked that my contacts were still in my eyes, just like my eye doctor said they'd be.

I know my story is pretty much repeating what others have said but I guess it just further enforces that pretty much no matter what happens your contacts should be just fine! I do however always carry a spare pair or two of contact lenses in my dive bag though just in case. Don't want to ruin a day or week of diving due to a lost or torn lense!

 

[Craybasher]

You may notice that you'll be able to see quite well underwater without your lenses. My own script is 3.75 and 5.75, and when I dive without lenses I can actually see quite well. This could be due to the fact that everything is magnified a bit underwater.

I constantly lost my soft and disposable contacts.I cant believe the number of people here who have no probs with them.....If i open my eyes underwater they pop straight off.Often i would 'blink' them off when removing my mask upon exiting or at the surface with mask down or walking back to the vehicle and water drips into my eye's from my hair.I now use a Cressi Look with -3.00 lenses (actual script is -2.75 + -3.00 but lenses were'nt available in .25 increments when i bought them in 1998.Due to the magnifying effect that Aussie scuba chick has pointed out i could get away with less than that i feel say -1.50 and i'd be able to see well just fine still.My lenses seem a bit overpowered underwater.I still need the vision correction underwater though - i dont enjoy diving as much without that - or most things for that matter!

 

[Papa_Bear]

You would be a good candidate for a Hydroptic mask, I have seen them advertised here I think? It would solve all your problems and give you a great U/W view! It's the one with the two Diopter Domes!

 

[Doc Harry]

I constantly lost my soft and disposable contacts.I cant believe the number of people here who have no probs with them.....

Ditto. Trying to dive or do any other water sports with contacts is a waste of money.

 

[kelpmermaid]

Ditto. Trying to dive or do any other water sports with contacts is a waste of money.

I did the math once, and for me it's about $25 per 30 lenses which means about 83 cents per lens. I don't flood/lose lenses very often, and I will dispose of them at the end of the day to avoid any hint of contamination, so I really don't see it as a big expense. My vision, corrected or not, is probably as bad as anyone else's underwater. The ocean is not as uncomfortable as chlorinated pool water. If I should reach the surface with no mask/lenses, I will have a hard time identifying a boat (-6.50 contact left eye, slightly better right.) The worst scenario I can envision (odd choice of words?!) is that I would surface alone away from the boat with my nonprescription mask and no lenses. In such circumstances, I would also be hard pressed to recognize nearby land -- sad, but true. I could also sit on a prescription mask. I think it's a trade off, and YMMV.

 

[Diver Kat]

Ditto. Trying to dive or do any other water sports with contacts is a waste of money.

Hmm .... 6 years of diving, 288 dives - never lost a contact lens yet. Not to count the number of years prior to diving when I did lots of snorkeling. I don't see it as a big waste of money at all ... what I do see is everything. I can see underwater, I can see on the surface, I don't have to have a prescription mask, I don't have to look for glasses as I stumble around a boat. Without my contacts I'm nearly blind, so it's less stressful to rely on my contacts then be fiddling with prescriptions masks and glasses and stuff. I wear monthly lenses, but will usually change them out when I get home from a trip. And I always travel with a few backups - just in case - but have never had to use them yet!

 

[Scuba_Sam_NZ]

If lens loss has been a problem, and you want to give it a go again, see an optometrist who will fit for the enviroment you will be wearing lenses in. A different fitting lens will stay in better in a damp environment. If the optometrist doesn't understand what you are talking about, go to a different optometrist - perhaps someone who does mainly contact lens fitting, or a sports vision trained optometrist. I wear lenses for all water sports - water-skiing, kayaking, canoe polo, boogie boarding, etc. Never lost a lens. I don't intentionally open my eyes under water, but have once or twice.

As far as contamination is concerned, this is not a factor in most salt water diving as I understand it. Perhaps it is different in other countries. In New Zealand, surrounded by coast line, we do very little fresh water diving. I've never dived in fresh water apart from in the pool as a student!!

If I was a tech diver, which I'm not, I would carry a spare prescription mask as a back up to my contact lenses.

Basically we are all individuals, and need to work out what suits us best, just like most other aspects of dive equipment.

Happy diving folks...

 

[EricJ]

I wear disposable contacts while diving and swimming. My optometrists recommends throwing them away after a dive trip. He worries about bacteria in the ocean getting on the lens.
My mask broke while diving. I simply opened my eyes under water with my contacts. Everybody's different; but for me it was fine. My eye was a little irritated (I was able to hold one side of the mask over one eye), but I ended up being fine after just a few minutes. I've opened my eyes in swimming pools while wearing contacts, and it dried out the lenses making them uncomfortable for quite some time. Once again, everyone's different.

 

[Craybasher]

Thanks Scuba Sam.I think i might see another optometrist.The wind can blow my lenses out in the boat sometimes.It must be the fit of them.I remember having sand blown into them at the beach a few times when the wind was up though.They get very uncomfortable then and require a clean.I looked at those hydroptic masks.I think i'll save my clams though and put them into new contacts.

 

[Craybasher]

Thanks Scuba Sam.I think i might see another optometrist.The wind can blow my lenses out in the boat sometimes.It must be the fit of them.I remember having sand blown into them at the beach a few times when the wind was up though.They get very uncomfortable then and require a clean.I looked at those hydroptic masks.I think i'll save my clams though and put them into new contacts.