Underwater Vision

[thsenterprises]

I wear glasses all the time - have been since I was 6 and now I am 50. I used to go scuba diving and remember that, under water, my vision was clearer. I am a -7.5 Rx. I haven't been diving or using a diving mask in many years but next week I plan to go into a shark cage in an aquarium. Will the water compensate a little so I will be able to see several feet in front of me? I tried contact lenses and could not wear them. Thanks for your help. Please contact me at tsarc@aol.com

 

[donnad]

my husband has pretty bad eyes. one eye is really bad. we started diving a couple years ago and he got a prescription mask and they put his bifocal prescription in there for one eye so he could read his guages. worked liked a charm. and it wasn't all that pricey....like no more than $150 for the mask and RX done. he said it's so good that if he lost his glasses on vacation, he could use his mask! he couldn't wear contacts either.

 

[thsenterprises]

thanks for the info...i dont have time to get a mask/Rx - i am going on a shark dive in 7 days...and probably wont need the mask after that.

 

[donnad]

well,,,,,,,,,ok, one time, before we were divers and he wanted to see well snorkeling, he took an old pair of glasses, removed the earpieces and kind of crammed the glasses inside his mask and it worked.

 

[Rick Murchison]

In my experience the optical quality of the mask/water interface is good for about -2 diopters. So you shouldn't need your "whole" prescription, but you'll probably need some.
Rick