Soft contacts vs. hard contacts for diving

[JohnN]

You're confusing a few terms.

Going back a bit- the first contact lenses used in the general population were called PMMA, and they did not allow any transmission of oxygen through the lens, for all practical purposes, they were nonpermeable, they had to be fit in such a way that the lens moved quite a bit on the cornea, with each blink. That way the needed gas exchange was done around the lens, because it could not happen through the lens.

Then came RGP lenses, which is short for "Rigid Gas Permeable lenses". These lenses looked and felt very similar to PMMA lenses but they flexed a bit when handled because the lens matrix was porous and allowed "some" gas exchange through the lens in addition to around the lens as it moved with the blink. Ironically, many PMMA lens wearers rejected this new lens because it wasn't as wettable and not as comfortable.

Both of those lenses are still fit today but comprise less than 5% of the population, with RGP lenses far outpacing PMMA lenses.

The vast majority of the vision corrected population who wear contact lenses wear soft lenses, and most of these lenses are disposable, with daily replacement lenses rapidly becoming the lens of choice.

Soft lenses of ANY form are much more permeable than RGP lenses and are the best choice for divers because there is little to no chance of a vacuum forming between the posterior surface of the contact lens and the anterior surface of the cornea- and because soft lenses do not fit nearly as loose as RGP or PMMA lenses and are held in place by the upper and lower lids, there is much less chance of loss even with a flooded mask. And in the event of a loss, disposable lenses are cheap and most patients have several extras on hand, whereas RGP lenses are custom made for the patient and cost upwards of $100 per lens.

Your best option is probably daily disposable lenses, which in your Rx will cost less than $25 for a box containing 30 lenses when purchased in volume.

You're welcome.

The OP said -6.00 D. I too have (had) terrible non-corrected vision and the advice I was always given was that the correction from RGP lenses would be substantially better than I could achieve with soft lenses. Since astigmatism wasn't mentioned by the OP, I'm going to assume that it is minor (as is mine)

For what its worth, I never experienced any problem with RGPs while diving

 

[Marktan]

I use the soft extended wear (what has now evolved into the "Air Optix Night & Day") contacts that you stick on your eyes and wear for a month straight (you even sleep in them - yes they are designed to do so). Truth be told, I'll extend them longer than 30 days, but if I do that, I will remove them for a day for a peroxide cleaning. I have been wearing them for about 15 years now with no issues (annual eye checkups) and absolutely love them. It's the next best thing to Lasik as far as I'm concerned (I'm kind of a chicken sh*t when it comes to cutting layers off my eyes with a laser). Under the water, I just squint a bit just to be safe and have never had any issues with them floating off. I think they are good for up to +/- 4.00 diopters of adjustment but with no astigmatism. I originally used the rigid gas perm lenses, but those popped off or slid up under my eyelid constantly, even when not in the water; I hated them.

 

[divesergeant]

I add my vote to those saying go for it with the soft lenses.

If you need RGP lenses it can be done also. Here is my thread on diving with scleral lenses which are a type of RGP... Diving with Scleral Lenses When in doubt, give DAN a call about any specific type of lens.

 

[DavBuc]

Truth be told, I'll extend them longer than 30 days, but if I do that, I will remove them for a day for a peroxide cleaning.

You're playing roulette with your eyeballs to save a few bucks per year. Just because you haven't yet suffered from a major eye infection from the severe noncompliance doesn't mean it won't happen. Over time the resistance of the cornea to infection gradually erodes as the dirty lenses don't provide sufficient oxygen transmission into the eye and removal of waste gases from the eye- and then one day, after years of careless contact lens wear- WHAMO- major infection- corneal ulcer- scarring- vision loss.

The OP said -6.00 D. I too have (had) terrible non-corrected vision and the advice I was always given was that the correction from RGP lenses would be substantially better than I could achieve with soft lenses. Since astigmatism wasn't mentioned by the OP, I'm going to assume that it is minor (as is mine)

For what its worth, I never experienced any problem with RGPs while diving

Nowadays, the newest soft lenses provide visual acuity that is so close to what is achieved with RGPS that there is no difference for all practical purposes (even with moderate or high astigmatism). Generally the only patients that can perceive a slight difference are those who have always worn RGPS and then trial soft contacts. Most are able to successfully make the switch and report much higher levels of comfort and after a period of time notice no difference in the vision whatsoever.

 

[BRT]

Oh that this were correct for me.

"Nowadays, the newest soft lenses provide visual acuity that is so close to what is achieved with RGPS that there is no difference for all practical purposes (even with moderate or high astigmatism). Generally the only patients that can perceive a slight difference are those who have always worn RGPS and then trial soft contacts. Most are able to successfully make the switch and report much higher levels of comfort and after a period of time notice no difference in the vision whatsoever."

 

[Miyaru]

I advise soft contact lenses. It doesn't make a difference under water, but it's really dusty in the tropics. Hard contacts and dust can be painful combination.....
I always got my contact lenses (Acuvue) from Samui during the time I lived on Koh Tao, optician shop in the shopping center Tesco, Chaweng. Much cheaper than in Europe!

 

[Daniel Ho]

Thank you guys for the advice and clearing up some misunderstanding I had. And since most of you recommended soft lenses and that's what my doctor also advised, I'll go with the daily soft lenses. Also thanks for the optician shop recommendation, I was thinking about buy diving mask, fins, booties and smb in Thailand, but contacts didn't come to my mind, good point!

 

[KevinNM]

Do have some spares contacts on hand, you can in theory lose a contact if you flood or remove your mask. It's not very common that it actually happens (most people just close their eye while they clear it), but it could.