Practicing Mask Skills with Contact Lenses

[ScubaSarus]

If your serious about diving Ide get a prescription mask.

Ignore this sweeping unwise statement
"The contacts arent very wise to wear while diving while some people do use them".

Ide splurge for a prescription mask if you dive a lot. But only if you dont want to wear contacts

It appears contacts are not an issue with diving to quite a few posters and its just a preference thingy.

 

[Rick Inman]

. The contacts aren't very wise to wear while diving ...

Why not? There is not a pressure issue. They don't come out on a dive. You can see on the boat/shore when you take your mask off (unlike with prescription mask). You can switch to any mask (backup mask) and still see perfectly. They're cheep. As your eyes change and your prescription changes, you don't have to pop for a new mask.
I have to disagree. I have at least 400 dives with my contacts and have never had a problem.

Oh, and don't forget the fashion factor, with your funny little eyes on the other side of the mask's coke-bottle lenses.

 

[rab]

I'd have to agree with Rick and more. I've only had soft contact for a few months now and only did the first dives with them recently. I'm only slightly near-sighted so my diving with uncorrected vision was OK (I don't have a corrective lenses restriction on my drivers license to give you an idea of what "slightly near-sighted" means).

At the GLWC Meet & Greet, I had the most concentrated series of dives and my eyes felt great. I've been wondering all week if the higher ppO2 is of benefit to contact wearers. I haven't had a fully flooded mask with contacts, but with my moustache it's always seeping a bit.

-Rob

 

[1RUSTYRIG]

If your serious about diving Ide get a prescription mask. The contacts arent very wise to wear while diving while some people do use them. Ide splurge for a prescription mask if you dive a lot.

Why isn't it wise to wear contacts while diving? I have worn contacts for 17 years and have been diving for 15. I have never once had a malfunction under water with my lenses. Slight discomfort? Occasionaly...but nothing that couldn't be dealt with until back on the boat/beach.

Prescription masks cost $$$ and don't do you a bit of good once you're out of the water. Nothing like walking around blind on the boat while you grope around for your specs.

For the record, I wear rigid gas permeable lenses which I imagine are much easier to deal with vs soft lenses. I would recommend trying hard lenses for diving over soft.

Kevin

 

[SeanQ]

Although I wear contacts, my vision is not poor enough to require them. Because of the poor visibility, I can rarely see past 40 ft anyways.

I find that it is easier to get a finger under the hood near your cheeks or jawbone. Slide the finger up towards the mask strap and then pull the hood backwards, away from the mask. You should be able to another get a finger under the hood above the mask strap.

There is no reason why you can't practice this skill on land. You may want to get your hood and gloves wet first though.

 

[MoonWrasse]

I wear soft contacts, and recently had my annual eye exam. Doc told me it was more difficult to lose a contact UW in salt water than above water, as the lense would tend to clinch the eye surface due to the higher salinity of the water (than the eye).

I've never lost a pair UW, however mine are disposable and I pack a few extra set in my kit.

 

[TwoTanks]

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?

This is exactly what I used to do.

Now I have a prescription mask, but I still bring a regular mask for days when I wear my contacts or if something happened to my prescription mask.

I have never lost a contact lens.

I do believe that the bacteria problem is real and I wouldn't leave the contacts in after a day of diving.

TT

 

[MoonWrasse]

Oh yes, forgot to mention that - I was warned about my contacts becoming petri dishes as the seas aren't a clean environment, and that the normal disinfecting solutions aren't capable of dealing with that. I keep my eyes closed if I need to clear my mask UW for that reason alone.

 

[Giggi]

Hubby is blind without his contacts (soft torics) and the eye doctor mentioned that he should NOT wear his usual soft lenses diving. There is so much bacteria, fish poop, and cruise ship runoff in the water that could get in and infect the eye that will be trapped by the lens, somewhat akin to a petrie dish, therefore diving with daily (non-disposable) lenses is inadvisable.

She special-ordered two "trial" pairs of disposables (at no extra charge to us) that were relatively close to his prescription just for our vacation. She also said that it was unlikely, even with a flooded mask that he would lose his contacts underwater. He now loves the disposables so much that we ordered them online and he doesn't wear his everyday lenses anymore.

As for gas perms, I wear those and I found that I have a hard time with visual clarity after diving. Also, I ended up with what looked like round bruises around my irises after diving, I suppose from the increased pressure. Fortunately, my vision is good enough without contacts (just a slight astigmatism with slight nearsightness) that I can see pretty clearly underwater without them, especially since I have a harder time seeing at distance. Underwater, there's not nearly the "distance" to have to overcome, even in Cozumel.

 

[NotQuiteDead]

What brand of contacts do you use? I've been using the Acuvue 2, I've had the least amount of hassle with them and diving.

I agree on the heavy water content lenses, they're nice for on the surface, but they really stink for diving.