Contact lenses and diving -Questions Welcome - by Idocsteve

[fdog]

Steve, I've been considering bifocal contacts for my next scrip.

A friend has them; he, like me, is heavily near sighted. Although he generally loves them, he reports that in low light he loses near field focus.

I can't afford this for deeper dives, so I'd be pushed towards a prescription mask with look-unders, if this a consistent trade-off for the design. Is it?

Thanks!


All the best, James

 

[idocsteve]

When I explained what I needed in diving and told my eye professional that neither eye was completely dominant

Very few people have one eye that is "completely dominant", however most if not all people have one eye that is more dominant than the other. This is tested using various methods, but if you want to try this at home kids, find a small object at a distance such as a picture on a wall at the end of a hallway, or a car in the street, and while you look at it (with your distance glasses or contacts on if you have them), take both your hands and put them together at arms length in front of you, forming a small opening to look through made by crossing your pointers and thumbs of each hand, and "sight" the object.

Without moving your hands, close one eye and then the other. In one case the object will disappear, in the other it won't. If it doesn't work exactly as I just told you then don't Scuba Dive because diving is much more complicated than this simple exercise and if you can't do this I can't even begin to wonder what might happen when you're entangled at 90 feet and your buddy is spearfishing 30 feet away.

Anyway, when the object disappears, the eye that you have just closed is your dominent eye for distance. That's the eye that is "usually" given the distance vision correction, and the other eye is usually corrected more for reading, in the case of monovision, or when only one contact lens is prescribed, or when more of a near vision correction is needed even with bifocal contact lenses.

 

[riftvalley84]

Do you have any advice about laser surgery with regards to scuba diving? My husband asked our doctor (general GP) and he recommended not getting it done for a few reasons, one of which was that the pressure on the eye at depth may be a potential problem. At this point he is looking into a prescription lens instead.

 

[fnfalman]

Steve, I've been considering bifocal contacts for my next scrip.

A friend has them; he, like me, is heavily near sighted. Although he generally loves them, he reports that in low light he loses near field focus.

I can't afford this for deeper dives, so I'd be pushed towards a prescription mask with look-unders, if this a consistent trade-off for the design. Is it?

Thanks!


All the best, James

I have similar problem too. I have prescription lenses bonded onto my mask lenses. They work great except for up close. It's hard for me at times to focus on the compass reading when I mount it on my wrist.

 

[idocsteve]

Do you have any advice about laser surgery with regards to scuba diving? My husband asked our doctor (general GP) and he recommended not getting it done for a few reasons, one of which was that the pressure on the eye at depth may be a potential problem. At this point he is looking into a prescription lens instead.

There are no known contradictions to LASIK and Scuba Diving of which I am aware.

 

[idocsteve]

Steve, I've been considering bifocal contacts for my next scrip.

A friend has them; he, like me, is heavily near sighted. Although he generally loves them, he reports that in low light he loses near field focus.

Bifocal contact lenses generally work better in conditions where there is better ambient light, but then again so do regular contact lenses and glasses!

If a reasonably good fit and visual acuity is obtained with a bifocal contact lens, I don't think that you'll have all that much trouble seeing your gauges in low lighting conditions.

This may be stating the obvious..however one one possibility is to use gauges that have backlights, I know that most computers do...and/or use a dive light to illuminate your gauges when you are in very low light conditions.

 

[Gombessa]

Lol, from seeing all the hilarious snark you usually posts, I mistakenly read your username as "IDiOCy-steve" and figured you were a troll/sockpuppet! It took this thread for me to finally glean the true meaning of your name

I had a general question (from a friend) regarding gas perm contacts and being maskless--do you know of any good alternatives for opening your eyes and risking losing the lenses? Is it common for hard lenses to wash out with eyes open underwater?

 

[idocsteve]

I had a general question (from a friend) regarding gas perm contacts and being maskless--do you know of any good alternatives for opening your eyes and risking losing the lenses? Is it common for hard lenses to wash out with eyes open underwater?

Large diameter soft lenses are much less likely to be displaced from the eyeball than their smaller RGP (Rigid Gas Permeable) lens counterparts and the diameter of the lens isn't the only reason. Your friend might consider having some disposable soft contacts available for diving, if he is able to wear those lenses.

I've read countless stories on this board and elsewhere about swimmers and divers keeping their eyes open and not losing their soft lenses.

3 caveats come to mind:

1- The larger the lens (approaching 15.0mm diameter), the better, because more of the lens will be held under the upper lids.

2 -Lenses that are exposed to seawater or poolwater should be removed and disinfected, and not worn overnight.

3- Try it out on a test pair if possible so you know what's gonna happen in the event of a mask flood. Disposable lenses make this task much easier.

 

[Blackwood]

There are no known contradictions to LASIK and Scuba Diving of which I am aware.

Speaking anecdotally, I had LASIK 2 years before I started diving, and have never had any problems.

 

[Kevrumbo]

<snip>I had a general question (from a friend) regarding gas perm contacts and being maskless--do you know of any good alternatives for opening your eyes and risking losing the lenses? Is it common for hard lenses to wash out with eyes open underwater?

Large diameter soft lenses are much less likely to be displaced from the eyeball than their smaller RGP (Rigid Gas Permeable) lens counterparts and the diameter of the lens isn't the only reason. Your friend might consider having some disposable soft contacts available for diving, if he is able to wear those lenses.

I've read countless stories on this board and elsewhere about swimmers and divers keeping their eyes open and not losing their soft lenses.

3 caveats come to mind:

1- The larger the lens (approaching 15.0mm diameter), the better, because more of the lens will be held under the upper lids.

2 -Lenses that are exposed to seawater or poolwater should be removed and disinfected, and not worn overnight.

3- Try it out on a test pair if possible so you know what's gonna happen in the event of a mask flood. Disposable lenses make this task much easier.

My RGP lenses pop out frequently into my mask (I've got Keratoconus OU, with a Right Cornea Transplant x 20yrs) . . .I recommend using a mask with a nose purge so you have a good chance of retaining and recovering your lens upon surfacing, and still having the functionality of being able to clear your mask via the nose purge. (Obviously, if you did a mask clear the conventional way, you would definitely lose that expensive RGP lens).

Any drills involving mask removal and replacement though --you must close your eyes else you will lose both RGP lenses. . .:shocked2: