Contact lenses and diving -Questions Welcome - by Idocsteve

[Ed Fish]

While on land, I find contacts to be troublesome, since I couldn't adapt to having one eye for reading and one for distance. So, I mostly wear contacts only while diving, and use a single stick-on lens for reading the gauges. Using contacts is much cheaper than precription lens for the mask, especially when the precription is a moving target(aging is not for the timid).
This system has worked well for me on over 100 dives, with no problems. The only time I lost the stick on lens is when I hadn't followed the directions for letting it dry a suffient amount of time. Once on, it stays in place until I pry it off to clean the mask well once a year, when my wife starts to make faces when she looks at the nooks and crannies!

 

[mike_s]

So while diving this weekend, for the first time, my hard contacts "fogged up" on me about every dive. It wasn't noticeable or didn't happen until ascent.

Never done it before. It also happened to another diver on the boat and she'd never had it happen before.


depths over 5 dives were 70ft to 105ft on average. water temps on surface were 82-85f. bottom temps were 70f-75f (average).



anyone else had this happen?

 

[Tigerman]

Not really, but was there a big difference on the water temp and air temp?
Nice avatar btw

 

[mike_s]

Not really, but was there a big difference on the water temp and air temp?

air temp was prob about 90-95. surface temp was prob about 85.

bottom temp was 70f at the coldest spot and maybe 78f at the warmest. I went down into a thermocline at about 40-50 ft and came back up in to nice warm water on the way back up.

this happened over 5 dives during two days. to me and one other person on the boat.

Nice avatar btw

Actually in another thread someone joked the reason my contacts fogged up was because "silly penguin had his mask on upside down"

 

[johnatabc]

As a contact lens wearer, I would have thought that the action of blinking would clear any condensation.
If not, might it suggest that whatever is condensing is more than just water vapour?
John

 

[mike_s]

I would have thought blinking would have cleared it also. it did not.

that leads me to believe that the condensation or bubbles was on the inside of the lens. between the lens and eyeball.

 

[g1138]

Did the other diver have hard contact lenses as well? I think since you have hard lenses they might not conform completely with your eye. So you have an air gap somewhere between the lens and your eye which allows for water to condense/fog at the right conditions.
I used to have soft lenses that were pretty rigid when dry, and they would pop off my cornea slightly and fog over whenever I wore them for a long time. I switched to more modern soft lens which were more hydrophilic and that solved that issue.
Just my thought on the issue.

 

[mike_s]

Did the other diver have hard contact lenses as well?

Yes... and they'd never had this happen before also. and they did a dive in the same location at the same time about 2-3 weeks previous and didn't have this issue there either. and it was in 70f temp range water.

I think since you have hard lenses they might not conform completely with your eye. So you have an air gap somewhere between the lens and your eye which allows for water to condense/fog at the right conditions.

I think that is a very viable possibility and have already considered that.

but since it didn't happen 2-3 weeks previous in similar temps (as mentioned above) , I found it odd.

I used to have soft lenses that were pretty rigid when dry, and they would pop off my cornea slightly and fog over whenever I wore them for a long time. I switched to more modern soft lens which were more hydrophilic and that solved that issue.
Just my thought on the issue.

thanks.

yes I've never had this issue with soft lens.

 

[cattidudette]

Hello,

I am very comfortable with lenses. Normal days I'd be wearing monthly type and when I travel (and now dive) I go for daily lenses.

My only concern is, what if my mask get ripped off by strong current and buddy is hanging on for his/her dear life, is it okay to open my eyes (just to be more independent!)? Some reading online said its fine because the water pressure prevents the lenses from coming off but I thought it would be better to hear it from a professional.

 

[mike_s]

Hello,

I am very comfortable with lenses. Normal days I'd be wearing monthly type and when I travel (and now dive) I go for daily lenses.

My only concern is, what if my mask get ripped off by strong current and buddy is hanging on for his/her dear life, is it okay to open my eyes (just to be more independent!)? Some reading online said its fine because the water pressure prevents the lenses from coming off but I thought it would be better to hear it from a professional.

if you've got a prescription mask and it gets ripped off by the current, you've lost vision correction there as well.


I swam for YEARS in soft contacts (in freshwater). the water seemed to "dry" my soft contacts to my eyeballs. trying to take them off without first putting in drops of saline was like ripping your cornea's off.


with hard contacts, a drop of water seems to want to knock them off center, which they then don't conform to the curvature of your eye anymore and want to pop out. my experience.


never hear the "pressure will hold them in" theory before.