Opening your eyes with contacts

[Dogbowl]

Has anyone ever opened their eyes in the ocean during a dive? Do your contacts fall out? Obviously I haven’t tried this but am curious. Do your eyes hurt when you open them in salt water?

 

[wheeledgoat]

I've squinted a bit but am always afraid of losing the contacts. Never felt any pain.

FWIW, I've opened my eyes fully underwater in the pool several times and the contacts stayed in no problem. But even so, I'm not risking my vision for the remainder of a dive.

 

[elgoog]

Never an issue. I do it all the time now if I'm doing a drill that requires the mask to come off. It's waaay easier to maintain depth and buoyancy this way.

I've done this in salt and fresh water, temps ranging from 45F to 80F in the ocean, fresh water was always in the 70s. The only difference I notice in cold water with mask off is that my forehead starts getting noticeably cold.

FWIW, I wear the daily disposable contact lenses.

 

[Dogbowl]

FWIW, I wear the daily disposable contact lenses.

I should probably get me some of those.

 

[TMHeimer]

I would suppose the only time you'd have to open them would be to look for a mask that fell or was knocked off. I took OW 2 weeks after lasik surgery and the instructor said there would be no time I would have to open my eyes without a mask on any of the skills.

 

[northernone]

I've washed out contacts 3 times over the years.

A squint is no problem if the water is clean. Otherwise, there are bad infection risks. I have some perminent scaring from silt under the lens and another from just a bad infection. Lost 3 weeks of diving from it. A half dozen other times with minor infections . It's not worth the risk.

 

[Dogbowl]

I've washed out contacts 3 times over the years.

A squint is no problem if the water is clean. Otherwise, there are bad infection risks. I have some perminent scaring from silt under the lens and another from just a bad infection. Lost 3 weeks of diving from it. A half dozen other times with minor infections . It's not worth the risk.

That's fair. I was only asking for when I accidentally lose my mask, not for something I would do on a regular basis. I just wanted to know what to expect. I should just buy a backup mask.

 

[northernone]

That's fair. I was only asking for when I accidentally lose my mask, not for something I would do on a regular basis. I just wanted to know what to expect. I should just buy a backup mask.

A backup mask is nice, in a true emergency the loss of my monthly disposable contacts is a small price to pay, I don't give it another thought.

If you are squinting underwater, keep your eyes straight ahead and don't wiggle them. It's the motion and blinking that flips them out. Strangely enough, water feels very "dry" on contacts and they stick to the lids quickly and dislodge.

Cameron

 

[Dogbowl]

A backup mask is nice, in a true emergency the loss of my monthly disposable contacts is a small price to pay, I don't give it another thought.

If you are squinting underwater, keep your eyes straight ahead and don't wiggle them. It's the motion and blinking that flips them out. Strangely enough, water feels very "dry" on contacts and they stick to the lids quickly and dislodge.

Cameron

Thanks for the info. That's helpful!

 

[ScubaBunga]

Just to add - I have been diving since '93 with contacts the entire time. During OW instructor just held my hand for anything so I could keep my eyes closed. I've (knock on wood) never had the need to open my eyes without my mask. The couple times I've opened my eyes in the pool, I've mostly squinted but never lost a lens. A friend of mine in college told about opening his eyes and seeing his contacts float off - but he was never 100% believable. The few times I've had to remove my mask, there were no issues after clearing. I'd also agree, get the daily wear - that way if you do lose one or a pair, you just have to get back to wherever your spare's are. I always travel with two extra sets just in case.