Opening your eyes with contacts

[caruso]

I considered switching to the 1 day contacts but they bother me more in the evenings and I felt guilty about the extra packaging.

1 day disposables don't require cleaning and disinfection. The plastic in those bottles creates far more environmental impact than the small cases the contacts are packaged in.

As far as daily disposables not being as comfortable- that's a matter of fit and lens material. Try a different brand.

 

[billt4sf]

I appreciate the info about infection from opening your eyes with contacts under water. I had not known that.

I DO open my eyes when I take off the mask, as it's FAR easier to maintain buoyancy, especially if the mask replacement takes ..just a little bit longer...

I will be more careful about cleaning my eyes and contacts henceforth. Wash your hands!

- Bill

 

[maat1976]

I am in the "legally blind" category without my contacts. Losing one was my biggest fear when I started diving because I do become helpless. I'm pretty good at telling my dive buddies about my eyes, and also giving them a symbol for "my contact fell out, we need to ditch". I can ascend by following bubbles and keeping my computer right up to my face (can't see much further than my arm) but surfacing is the tricky bit if it's a boat dive - I can't see it above me. Also getting on the boat is problematic.

All that said, I've only lost one contact and that was in my mask. I keep spares, and I always have a plan to deal with it if I do lose a contact. I've never had to open my eyes with contacts underwater, but in the exceptional situation I did, I'm OK with it now.

I wear fairly pricey daily disposables with a high oxygen transmission rate, and never use them twice. If it feels funny, in the bin and get a new one. I don't mess around. I haven't even considered lasik, and wont. Everyone I know who got it still wears glasses and now has dry eye too. Pass for me, maybe it's more right for others.

 

[Mustard Dave]

There's an optician at my club; she is very outspoken on this subject. If you want to feel her wrath, tell her "I've been swimming with contact lenses for years and never had a problem". While most people will get away with it, even the slightest chance of permanently damaging or losing your eyesight makes it a risk not worth taking. If you cannot see without your contacts, get a prescription mask.

 

[Diving Dubai]

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.

How did you accopmplish the mask off swim while you were a "DM"?

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?

My wife has contacts, and will not open her eyes underwater for fear of loosing them

I used to have a phobia about opeing my eyes underwater (in salt water) I was told that the stinging is a reaction between air and the salt water, so until you cleared your mask you're okay.

Of course I was highly scepital to say the least. However as an instructor you need to have your eyes on the student at all times. So one day I had no DM, needed to demonstrate Mask off swim (keeping my eyes open to see the student) and found it to be true. (Caviet in the summer here we have very high salinity so it does sting a bit)

All that said, I don't wear contacts. My agreement with my wife, is that if she looses her mask/contacts,. I'll bring her to the surface with a stop treating her as blind. Fortunatley the worst she's had is a bit of grit behind her lenses

 

[Charred]

I wear contacts for diving. I will not ever open my eyes underwater.

When I told my eye doc I need some extra contacts for a trip she flipped. She insisted I use daily disposable contacts for diving in salt or fresh because of the risk of infection. The concern is that bacteria and fungi adhere to the surface of your contact thus the increased risk of infection. Without the contact, the microorganism would normally be flushed from your eye.

She also said this is a risk not unique to diving but anyone that gets untreated water in their eye: kayaking, surfing, boating, etc.

I keep spare contacts in one of those water park-style waterproof necklaces.