Contacts

[Djpac]

Hello,

I just signed up for my Open Water classes today, but i am worried. I have contacts. They are the disposible,2 week, soft contacts. Is wearing them going to be a problem when i dive and will they fall out when my mask comes off? And also should they be changed before i go out for a dive in a pool or ocean?

 

[ekremer]

according to my Dive Instructor, no, just close your eyes when clearing your mask. But really ask your instructor first.

we had a person in our class that used contacts she would just close her eyes and the first few times our instructor just gave her a tap when the mask was clear.

 

[gecko2gecko]

My instructor did the exact same thing...close your eyes while doing it and a tap for communication....every teacher is different though...best to ask like ekremer said.

 

[D_B]

Same as above

DB

 

[Rick Inman]

FYI, there's tons of info on diving with contacts you can "search" for if you're interested.

I wear contacts, and have opened my eyes underwater several times without them coming out. YMMV.

If you do open your eyes, and the contact are exposed to water (fresh/salt) you need to dispose of them and use new ones to prevent bacterial infection.

 

[Spoon]

you can wear contacs if you want to, shouldnt be a problem

 

[m3830431]

I have contacts and can swim with my eyes open with no problem.

 

[jonnythan]

I've been diving for years with AcuVue's, then AcuVue 2'ss, then Focus Dailies, and now AcuVue Advance's.

Lots of mask-off swimming. It's no problem at all. Keep the contacts in.

 

[WellBelowH2O]

Contacts here as well and no problems--the only part of OW class that was affected was a mask "round robin" where 4 of the students sit in a circle and you practice clearing your mask, take it off, hand it to the next person and then clear the mask you were just given and so on. When I went through it, I just told the person next to me to put the mask right in my hand as my eyes would still be shut. No problems.

The biggest thing that you should prepare for is getting water in your eyes and not being able to fix it at depth. You should practice (in the shower, etc.) trying to "squeeze" the water out of your eyes with only your eyelids to "reseat" your contact lens without using your hands. Took some practice at first, but now if I get water in my eye (which screws up my vision) I can pretty much clear it in a few seconds without trouble.

 

[adurso]

Speak to your optometrist or opthomologist about your eyes specifically. In general it is no problem. I started wearing soft contacts in 1974 and dove with them until I had my eyes lasered last year.