burning eyes - defog or sunscreen?

[Diver Lori]

For my face I use a stick sunscreen meant for babies that is labeled for sensitive skin. I've not had any problems with stinging with this product as I have with other facial sunscreens.

 

[bug]

I am going to have to agree with just about everybody. Sunscreen.

My parents, and girlfriend hate me for this, and I am sure my skin don't like it either.

But I refuse to put sunscreen on my face before I dive. I have had 2 situations. One was stinging in my eyes. At first I thought it was the salt water. But then I realized, oh wait, no water in the mask. I know it wasn't the drops because I have been using the same drops on every dive I have done.

The second was I put the sunscreen on less then 25min before I got in the water... BIG MISTAKE. My mask could not make a seal on my face. My mask was flooding the entire time.

But the closest the sunscreen gets is my neck and ears. I just wear a nice hat. Every once in a while I get daring and try different sunscreens on my face, and different application times.

I actually think I am close. A few more dives and we will know for sure. It is Paula's Choice Extra Care non-greasy SPF 30+.
At this point if I apply about an hour before the dive or a bit longer. I think I am ok.

good luck

 

[LI Diver]

Get to the boat early if you are boat diving and find a spot under the canopy. Wear a hat and keep the brim low like your in the federal witness protection plan and get the biggest wrap around sunglasses you can find. I sometimes wear a flats fishing hat with a long brim and a flap for over the neck.

 

[Scuba Brad]

Hey team there is an discussion in "new divers and those considering" on going about this same item. There is some good discussion and suggestions there.

Happy Diving

 

[realdiver7]

Definitely sunscreen...been blinded by the severe stinging many times until I stopped putting it on my forehead and started wearing a hat. The desert booney hats work well for protection on your forehead and neck.

 

[No Fish]

If people think the problem is defog, ,

Do you remember if you cleaned your mask prior to the dive? Another possibility is that some mask cleaner, if you use that kind of stuff, was still in the mask. I have done this myself. I use mask cleaner, not toothpaste, and I have left a little in the corners every once in a while. It really burns your eyes. Big time.

I am curious if this is possible in your case.....

 

[MoonWrasse]

Hi all,

I just got back from a my 1st caribbean dive trip - see the caribbean section for the post. Anyway, everything was great, except for one dive. As I went down, my eyes started burning, and this continued through the dive. I managed to complete the dive without other incident, but was in a decent amount of pain when I surfaced. I know, I probably should have just called the dive at the beginning.;-0

Anyway, I think it could have either been the sunscreen that we had put on for the boatride out (we didn't want to get facial sunburns in the caribbean sun), or it could have been a bit of residual defog mixing with saltwater in the mask.

If people think the problem is defog, I think I may just go back to the spit method. Has anybody ever had a problem with sunscreen running into your eyes during a dive? And if so, what are some good ideas for facial sun protection while you're on the dive boat? We also wore hats on the dive boat.

Thanks,

If you have significant and prolonged burning in your eyes, you should see an eye doctor ASAP. Chemical burns can cause permenant damage to your eyes.

Anyway, I hope you flushed them with clean water once back on the boat - seawater is full of nasty bacteria.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

If you have significant and prolonged burning in your eyes, you should see an eye doctor ASAP. Chemical burns can cause permenant damage to your eyes.

Anyway, I hope you flushed them with clean water once back on the boat - seawater is full of nasty bacteria.

MoonWrasse has a very good point. We are all assuming that because we have experienced burning of the eyes from sunscreen, this is the cause. It could also be related to a combination of the sunscreen, the mask defog, and a sensitization to these chemicals. The only way to tell for sure is to go through some screening. So if it was mild, and went away quickly once the dive was over, it's probably some of the above. But if it persists, then it needs to be looked at.

One other thing no one has mentioned is that a person can get sunburn of the whites of the eyes; in skiing it's called snowblindness. You cannot put sunscreen into the eyes, yet the sclara (whites of the eyes) are suseptable to sunburn. If in doubt, check it out. Don't mess with the eyes. Also, people generally do not know that certain drugs or medications can make a person more susceptable to sunburn. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), in their TLV Booklet (Threshold Limit Values for chemical Substances and Physical Agents) has the following note on page 158 of the booklet:

Notes
3. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation concurrently with topical or systemic exposure to a variety of chemicals, including some prescription drugs, can result in skin erythma (skin reddening, or commonly "sunburn"--jcr) at sub-TLV exposures. Hypersensitivity should be suspected if workers present skin reactions when exposed to sub-TLV doses or when exposed to levels that did not cause a neticeable erythma in the same individual in the past. Among the hundreds of agents that can cause hypersensitivity to ultraviolet radiation are certain plants and chemicals such as some antibiotics (e.g., tetracycline and sulphathiazole), some antidepressants (e.g., imipramine and sinequan), as well as some diuretics, cosmetics, antipsychotic drugs, coal tar distillants, some dyees, or lime oil.

Thanks everyone for the discussion. I've learned some things here too.

SeaRat

 

[PAdiver93]

Definetely sunscreen - go with the "sports" kind - it will say on the bottle that it does not run... Or chapstick...