Practicing Mask Skills with Contact Lenses

[Daryl Morse]

I wear contact lenses. I'm very near-sighted. When I did OW, I had to "work around" my contact lenses when practicing mask skills (removal, replacement, clearing). I found it somewhat of a pain getting the top seal of the mask underneath the hood, but even though it took some fiddling, I could always end up getting the mask sealed and cleared. The only bother was having to be being careful opening my eyes to minimize the likelihood of a contact lense getting washed off my eye.

Since I dive in cold water (45F in winter), I like to wear my 5mm gloves and hood on the tight side in order to cut down the water circulation. With the tight gloves and hood, I find it quite difficult to get the top seal of my mask underneath the hood because it's hard to get a finger under the seal of the hood. I can always do it, but as it typically takes a few attempts to get the mask seal right, I feel it takes too long. I'd like to practice this more often so I can get better at it, but I intentionally don't because I don't want to lose a contact lense.

I'm wondering how other cold water divers deal with this. Does anyone have any suggestions for dealing with the hood with gloves on? I've thought about sewing a flat cloth tab onto the top of hood so I can grab it with my gloves on and lift up the top edge. Has anyone tried that or did you just practise enough so it wasn't an issue? How did you deal with contact lenses? Just wondering.

 

[String]

Easiest way i find is probably hard to write down.

I clear mask/fit mask and leave it on my face but seal outside hood - ie just fit it.

Then i put a finger in between hood and face somewhere easy - my cheek is the best as you can squeeze a finger in.

Now move hand outwards from face to pull the hood away from cheeck.

Next, move the fingeraround the hood seal from cheeck up to eyes, across head and down the other side. This has the effect of pulling the seal out from under the mask, the mask then sticks to face and the seal of the hood then lands on top of that so job done.

Its probably easier to demo than write though....

 

[WJL]

How did you deal with contact lenses? Just wondering.[/QUOTE]I'm in the same boat. I'm very near-sighted and I wear contacts. When I take my mask off underwater I keep my eyes closed. If I really need to look at something with the mask off, I open my eyes just a slit to keep the contacts from floating away. If I were in some desperate situation where I had to keep my eyes wide open without a mask, I'd do that and let the contacts float away if they wanted to. In case that happens I keep a spare set of contacts in my dive bag.

As far as dealing with the hood, it's only a matter of a little practice. It generally takes a bit of futzing around to get the edges of the hood out from under the edges of your mask. Don't worry about doing it quickly, you'll make yourself stressed over nothing. There's no time limit to get yourself ready. However long it takes is fine.

 

[Daryl Morse]

How did you deal with contact lenses? Just wondering. I'm in the same boat. I'm very near-sighted and I wear contacts. When I take my mask off underwater I keep my eyes closed. If I really need to look at something with the mask off, I open my eyes just a slit to keep the contacts from floating away. If I were in some desperate situation where I had to keep my eyes wide open without a mask, I'd do that and let the contacts float away if they wanted to. In case that happens I keep a spare set of contacts in my dive bag.

As far as dealing with the hood, it's only a matter of a little practice. It generally takes a bit of futzing around to get the edges of the hood out from under the edges of your mask. Don't worry about doing it quickly, you'll make yourself stressed over nothing. There's no time limit to get yourself ready. However long it takes is fine.

I've been wearing contact lenses for many years so I have a pretty good feel for whether or not they are positioned properly over the corneas. If they aren't, unless they're folded, I can usually get them in place by blinking and moving my eyes around. Sometimes it takes several attempts. That said, once the lense is folded or comes off, it's game over.The only time that happened was in the pool and the lense was stuck on my cheek when I pulled off the mask!

I guess "dealing with contact lenses" means taking longer to ensure the mask is clear than I'd have to otherwise, but there is one thing you can do to make it easier. I don't wear contacts that have high water content when I dive. High water content lenses are so flimsy that if there is even the slightest bit of excess water in the eyelid they fold up and come off. I have a pair of soft contact lenses that are thicker and more rigid than typical high water content disposable lenses so they are much more tolerant of water in the eye. I only wear these lenses for diving. If you haven't tried them, you should. They are disposable so no big deal if they get lost.

Like you, I close my eyes when my mask is off and only open them when I'm pretty sure the mask is clear. In an emergency, I'd let them go rather than waste time fussing around. I also bring spares (one set per dive).

To be clear, I'm not stressed about this and I don't have any fear of breathing without a mask on. I just don't like the fiddling around. I guess I'll just bite the bullet and practice it more when I dive. I'm just wondering how others deal with it, particularly technical divers practicing gas switches with mask off.

 

[Daryl Morse]

Easiest way i find is probably hard to write down.

I clear mask/fit mask and leave it on my face but seal outside hood - ie just fit it.

Then i put a finger in between hood and face somewhere easy - my cheek is the best as you can squeeze a finger in.

Now move hand outwards from face to pull the hood away from cheeck.

Next, move the fingeraround the hood seal from cheeck up to eyes, across head and down the other side. This has the effect of pulling the seal out from under the mask, the mask then sticks to face and the seal of the hood then lands on top of that so job done.

Its probably easier to demo than write though....

I'm okay until you get to the point where the strap attaches to the mask. That's exactly what I already do. How do you around to the top? Or do you leave the strap off until the hood is fixed? Hmm... there's a thought.

 

[Rick Inman]

We did some mask clearing drills on last night's dive. I wear disposable contacts, and I just open my eyes and don't worry about it and they've never come off. Did it twice last night, no problem. But YMMV.
Also, if my contacts get wet at all, I toss them as soon as I get home. My optometrist says a bacteria can grow on the lens and cause permanent eye damage. Chances are slim, but with the price of disposables, why take a chance?
BTW. am I the only one who actually enjoys looking around underwater with my mask off?

 

[vjongene]

I'm wondering how other cold water divers deal with this. Does anyone have any suggestions for dealing with the hood with gloves on? I've thought about sewing a flat cloth tab onto the top of hood so I can grab it with my gloves on and lift up the top edge. Has anyone tried that or did you just practise enough so it wasn't an issue? How did you deal with contact lenses? Just wondering.

What Rick said. I am also a cold water diver, and often wear contacts while diving (I had a prescription mask with bifocals for a while, but it was stolen...) I have never lost my contacts while doing mask clearings, whether as drill or because my mustache lets in water. I just keep my eyes open... Try it some time!

 

[String]

I'm okay until you get to the point where the strap attaches to the mask. That's exactly what I already do. How do you around to the top? Or do you leave the strap off until the hood is fixed? Hmm... there's a thought.

Ive never founds it an issue, running my finger around the rim of the hood or pulling it sideways away from my face hard always seems to pull the hood from under the mask, even the sides where the strap attachment is.

 

[WellBelowH2O]

Contacts for me as well... when I have a hood on, I will normally put the mask on very low (before clearing) and pull up the top edge of the hood (which is sometimes difficult but I eventually get a finger in--just remember, it's not a race). Once I have the edge of the hood, I'll slide the mask up and move my finger back and forth until it's set in properly. After that, it's fairly easy to get a finger in to deal with the sides (hollow of my cheek is the easiest for me) and then run the finger up and down on each side. Clear as normal and open my eyes when I think it's clear.

Also, I've found that if I do get water in my eyes and it screws up my lenses, that before opening my eyes, squeezing my eyes as tightly shut as I can and moving them back and forth while shut will normally help "reseat" them and get rid of some of the water.

 

[nessum]

The best advice I can give is don't worry about it taking too long. Remember, just go in slow motion in scuba. Relax, fix your seal, then clear your mask. You'll get more adept at postioning it under your hood with practice. Also if it's your own hood it will eventually stretch out a bit & be easier to manipulate.