I've worn contacts kiting for several years, despite a warning from the optician that there was a risk of infection. Well it finally happened. I've a bad infection now, out for 8 weeks, antibiotic drops in the eye, every hour, for 48 hours and hope it doesn't spread deeper into the eye- that would be really serious. Scarring is likely if it gets better, ruling out contacts in the future as infection loves scars. Recommend anyone using contacts take them out when you leave the water and rinse your eye. I was careless and maybe could have avoided this.

Anyone got any good ideas re glasses, sunglasses with prescription lenses? I can't see the lines all the way up without something.

Thanks

I've been using contact lenses for years without problems (one day - single use and throw away ). Always careless as you said and never had a problem.

Get well soon, mate.

All through the 80's I used contacts with no troubles. They were semi-hard ones because that was what was available.

I would have thought daily disposable contacts would minimise the risk of infection. Google says otherwise with all the advice being to not use contacts in the water due to the risk of abrasion or infection.

I had laser eye surgery in 1995 and that fixed my eyes for good. I still have better than 20:20 distance vision. Close up is pretty crap but that's what happens when you get old.

Lips sunglasses are about the best available and they do prescription lenses. They are likely super expensive, but so is kite gear. My favourites are the photochromic lenses. www.lip-sunglasses.com/prescription/

Had doc inspection again today....still on hourly antibiotic drops. I feel like I''ve got triplet babies waking me up all night. I'm wrecked!
Looked up the Lips and read more good things about them. V expensive with prescription lenses. Hard to take that step with the high cost in case they don't work well. Will have to consider everything though.

Basically all glasses work fine in the water as long as you keep them clean. I wash mine with warm water and liquid hand soap after each session. If you rinse them and shake them dry properly then you don't have to polish them. I do the same with my reading glasses.

All glasses, including the Lips, "wet out" during a session and you can't see much through them. It takes longer with the Lips and their coatings but it can happen eventually. All you have to do is drop into the water then shake your head as you start off and you're pretty good to go. That cleans the glasses reasonably well.

I foil pretty much exclusively so it's possible to ride high and dry all session. That's a wonderful feeling with the sun shining and crystal clear glasses and nice water and reefs to ride over.

I had a problem with darker lenses if the sun went in, or it got close to sunset. You want the dark glasses to filter out the sun glare but it's a bit hard to see when it's getting on to dark. The photochromic lenses fixed the overclouding and late afternoon problem. I don't need prescription lenses so if it gets to dark or the glasses get to gungey I just push them down around my neck.

You could probably try with ordinary prescription glasses. You need a head band properly secured to the arms of the glasses, and a neck leash as backup. A head band is not enough by itself. Even with a hat or helmet, if you're going hard enough you can crash hard enough for the glasses and head band to get washed off.

I wouldn't bother with stuff like Rain-X or anti-fog waxes. They work, a bit, but they're not much better than a clean set of lenses and they're not close to being as good as a proper set of coated lenses.

Thanks Gorgo,
It might be time to consider surgery to improve my eyesight. I'm going to look at everything.

Woha ! Thanks for the heads up. I've used disposables for years without issue and didn't know this could be a thing. I can't see the lines well even with contacts sometimes - I'd lose glasses. I'll need to check it out.. Any reason particularly why you got the infection or was it just being in salt water?

Woha ! Thanks for the heads up. I've used disposables for years without issue and didn't know this could be a thing. I can't see the lines well even with contacts sometimes - I'd lose glasses. I'll need to check it out.. Any reason particularly why you got the infection or was it just being in salt water?

Woha ! Thanks for the heads up. I've used disposables for years without issue and didn't know this could be a thing. I can't see the lines well even with contacts sometimes - I'd lose glasses. I'll need to check it out.. Any reason particularly why you got the infection or was it just being in salt water?

I think the bacteria are there all the time on your body but your immunity system deals with it. The contacts in salt water provides a good environment for an infection, especially if you don't take them out immediately after activity. Doc told me if the infection gets under the cornea, you're in real trouble as the eye has a bad blood supply and can't therefore fight the infection. They hit it hard with antibiotic drops every hour, day and night, to help the body get rid of it. Took me weeks to clear it up, waking up with an alarm to add the drops!

Hey Reach. I feel for you. Hard lesson learnt.
I've not had an infection in my eye but a retinal detachment and tears due to years of astigmatism on one eye. I am still recovering and won't be back in the water for months unfortunately. But I did go through the anti biotic eye drops every hour for a day at least and had to stay overnight at the hospital to make sure they are properly administered. Plus lying face down to help heal the repair in the retina.
Eyes are so underrated man. Please look after them and wear sunnies out there as years of glare and sun can cause damage. I hope you have a speedy recovery.

Yours sounds way worse than mine. Best of luck with recovery.

For anyone who needs vision correction - google "OrthoK" or "Orthokeratology" . You put custom made hard (but gas-permeable) contact lenses in overnight and they re-shape the front surface of your eyes. Next day... 20/20 vision. It lasts all day so you can do any sports without having to worry about glasses etc.Laser is good (but expensive) but if your prescription is changing then you can't keep re-lasering your eyes. The OrthoK lenses have to be replaced every 12-18 months so of course, if there is any change to your eyesight, the new lenses take that into account.
There's an optometrist in Bondi Junction who's an Ortho K guru for any Sydney people who are interested.

That sounds almost too good to be true. Thanks for the tip.

I Feel your Pain. A few years ago I was out offshore yacht sailing. wore the same set of contacts. even though I could tell my eyes were getting sore. I pushed though and still wore the contacts daily. ( I forgot my glasses) Anyway ended up getting an ulcer on my eye. the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Ended up in hospital and the doctors scraping my eye with a scalpel, no anesthetic. so Painful then had weeks of eye drops. I can't face putting contacts in my eyes these days. I have polarized prescription safety glasses that I wear kiting.

That sounds rough. Glad I posted this as it seems there are lots of reasons to be wary about your eyes in the sea.