hey

i was just wondering what people do when they wear contact lenses whilst paddling, do you wear some type of goggle or simalar or do you just wear the contact lens with out anything else. because when i get a little splash of water in my eye the lens moves and i cant see anything for about 20-30 seccs until the lens returns back into position.

thanks!

My wife wears contacts and she doesn't wear any type of goggle. She closes her eyes underwater and hasn't complained about her contact moving with water splashes.

All the paddlers i paddle with uses goggles or an old pair of glasses

I ware old contact lenses since years with kayaking and have never lost one!!!
Sometimes it moves in the eye, but have put a little mirror with me, so I can put it back when that happanes.
If you close your eyes with splashes and eskimorolling nothing happens.
No problem!

i never wear any type of glasses or goggles and my contacts occasionally get bothered. however i havent lost one yet. good thing too, i woudnt be able to drive home

I wear contacts also. My older ones didn't move much but the newer Acuvue will move everytime it gets splashed. Sunglasses help if they're wrap around types with a strap to hold them on. I tried goggles but they're too much of a hassle. I wish there was more out there besides laser surgery but I guess it's what works best, and what you can afford and put up with. That's how I deal with it...I'll keep watching this board to see if there's anything better out there someone else has tried. I'm blind as a bat without them!

Me to! Ive just developed a good 'shut eyes damn quick now!' reflex, and that usually works. The occasional powerflip catches you out though, and there are few things more disconcerting than being sat in some meaty hole, and trying to stay upright whilst fiddling around the back of your eye for a lens. I tried shades and stuff but they just steam up. Sea-specs any good?

I wear daily disposable contacts and occasionally lose some on the water. Make sure you have some spares in your bouyancy and learn how to put them in without a mirror. It's not that hard.

One tip for reduciing the number of lost lenses is to switch to larger diameter ones next time.

Jim.

I wear contacts while paddling. You need to get one day disposables tho. Otherwhiese u can get a realy bad eye infection.

ive never wore contacts but i have prescription oalky water jackets that seem to do the job just fine tho
i have light reactive lenses and i can never see those really shallow rock in eddie lines so i some times get bumped out
well thats my excuse

the water jackets have drain holes in and a really good fastening system so they stay locked to your head with out too much hassle like glasses strap

OK,
Well, other alternatives to disp cls do exist. Talk to your optom about scleral lenses - they will not come out - even if you swim. Also, because the material they're made out of doesn't absorb H20, you lessen your chance of getting a nasty infection.

They are expensive though, and will take quite a specialised cl practitioner to fit them. Expect to take up to a couple of months getting the fit just right. It will also take you a while to learn to insert and remove them (they are quite a lot larger than normal disps).

I'd probably say it depends on how much you paddle, and how much your lenses bother you at present. If you paddle a heap, it may be worth investigating this, but if you don't paddle that much, it's probably quite an expensive alternative. Plus, the fitting is quite uncomfortable (involves taking moulds).

Anyhow, you asked for an alternative!

steff (btw I'm an optometrist)

One technique I use is to splash a little water into my eyes just before I enter a rapid or play spot. The fresh (non saline) water seems to help the contacts stick to my eyes better. I also carry spares in my pfd as I do tend to lose them occasionally.

Good luck!

I ve lost several lenses.
I have the bad habit to open my eyes when I'm concentrate when I hit White water. (foam, waches the lens right out)
I always have spare one with me.
I use day lensen.
recently i've used a new type with bigger diameter, haven't lost any since then.

Lenses do stick more when they where in contact with (non saline) water.
I will try to splash my eyes, good idea.

i dont use any thing and sometimes it is a problem so recently i have been wearing ordinary sport sunglasses and have found that works!

I wear sunglasses, which seems to help reduce the amount of lense displacement I experience during a run. Most times when I have an issue, my lense will move off to the side, so I am blinking as quickly as possible to reset the lense. It's unnerving, but I tend not to lose focus on what I am doing as I am paddling.

I wear contacts and found that, like a few otheres on this thread, that closing your eyes when your going down really helps. Sometimes if i get trashed in whole or weird wave thing theyll get dislodged, but i just move it back into place with my finger. Once i rolled up to find a contact on my skirt, i put it back in nut that probably isnt the best idea unless your really blind without them becasue of the whole infection thing.

I think a lot of the eye infection thing depends on where you paddle. I paddled with contacts for three years in California and only used two pairs the whole time as I have an odd perscription and can't get daily wear. Never had an eye infection, but most of our water is clean snow melt. That said, got the eye surgery last year and it was worth every penny.

I've used daily disposables for the past decade or so, and caught one eye infection while paddling the Gauley (U.S.). That took away three months of boating (or doing pretty much anything else for that matter) and then one year where I wasn't allowed to wear contact lenses.

The problem was more that it was diagnosed incorrectly (In the U.S. it was called pink eye, where in reality it was a Chlamidia B eye infection), which let it fester for so long that there was long term discomfort from it.

I have minus 9 diopter, so I'm practically blind if my lenses would wash out. I have never lost a single lens on the river (in the past 12 years, that is) though, and it is very rare indeed that they move after getting a big splash in my eyes. Turning my head sideways just before an anticipated splash, closing my eyes and using a sun visor all helps contain the splash discomfort.

I'm short sighted (abut 17.5 and 17.5 instead of 20 20) and I'm planning on getting contacts. Just for kayaking and general going out.

About the eye infection, it's just the water that interferes with the liquid between the contact and the eye I know that alot of the water throughout the UK can get you infected if you don't use disposables and thoroughly don't wash out reusables. It can cause blindness in serious cases. There was another post about this a while ago.

Has anyone tried The XP Seal goggles? I have a pair, they make you look a bit retarded but 1. Certain ones keep the sun blocked out and 2. They stick to your face like a leeche would stick to your arse =)

Ash.