How does one go about preventing the sort of eye injuries/ disease created by repeated exposure to sun, sand and salt water and occasional board spearing commonly seen amongst Kitesurfers, Windsurfers and Surfers.
Injuries that can ultimately cause loss of sight or worse death from eye related cancers.

Kitesurfing generally requires Sunglasses.
On the WestCoast the afternoon seabreeze is in the afternoon and one is always staring straight into the suns rays and reflection of the water. Couple that with the constant salt water spray, sunburn cream running into your eyes and no wonder ones eyes feel sore after a good session.

There's a simple solution and its not expensive.

Go to the hardware store or on line and buy a pair of smoke tinted or polarised safety glasses. The cheaper kind that cost anywhere from $5 - $12.
Put a rubber strap onto the sides pieces so that a full on face-plant crash wont rip them off (comfortably tight). Silicon rubber tube will also help them float and also stop sharp ear pieces poking your eye.

The important points when buying these sunglasses is:

Look for Australian Standard rated Safety Glasses, usually Lexan.
Wrap around and close fitting that stops side sun and water from running into your eyes from forehead.
One piece with incorporated nose piece and lenses.
DONT buy glasses with non incorporated lenses and nose pieces as they just pop out or fall off during crashes (Fashion sunnies are generally no good).
The hinge is important piece that usually fails first from breakage or corrosion. The simpler the better. In fact I super glue the hinges so they are permanently positioned.
If you can get polarised then all the better they help one see the Big Whites that may lurk beneath, but are harder to find in the cheaper brands.

Last tip is to buy some windscreen water repellant "Rainex" the type found in Autostores. Put a few drops onto a tissue and rub onto lens. Do it quickly and don't let it dry. Polish off quickly. Do both sides and don't leave on wet as it will damage lens and plastic. This will make the lens hyrophobic and water will just bead and run off and only need to be done every couple months.

Now you have a pair of effective sunnies that not only will help protect your eyes whilst kiting/sailing but will cost you very little. If your lucky you may even find some that actually looks OK on the water.
They can also be used surfing but you must tie them to you wetsuit zip as they have the tendency to be pushed up off your face during really bad wipeouts.

Please share your experiences with this issue.

Here's a typical example found at Hardware stores.



If you have to wear glasses consider the use of Contacts in combination with sunnies which should stop them from being flushed out.

Sites to buy:
www.maximumsafety.com.au/vallen-saturn-safety-spectacles-p/valp%20saturn%20parent.htm?1=1&CartID=0

shop.fuglies.com.au/slipovers.html

or you could buy these

www.seabreeze.com.au/shop/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=25


nice plug though

After years of dicking around with sunglasses I have opted for a hat. Just a basic nylon peaked cap with a loop on the back to tie onto the zip puller of my wetsuit.

The problem with sunglasses is that if they are not absolutely clean then they get very grimy very quickly with dried salt. When riding into the sun the glare of the dirty lenses is bad. Treatments like RainX don't help much (and it's more dicking around you have to do.)

With the hat I just dip my head and the sun is completely blocked from vision. No glare at all. No sun in my eyes. No dirty lenses.

I know the hat does not stop reflected light of the water, but it goes a long way to helping. If it was a super bright day in the middle of the day I would wear the sunnies as well. The vast majority of my sessions are late afternoon so this is not really an issue.

I do have a couple of purpose built surf hats with chin straps and ear covers and all that. On super sunny days I do wear the bucket hat. I hated the peaked surf hat. It made me feel like a chemotherapy kid. I quite like wearing a normal peaked cap. I buy them on ebay for $7 each.

BTW The easiest and best treatment for sunglasses is to wash them with some neat detergent and rinse thoroughly under warm water. It gets all the grease of and stops water sticking to the lenses.

PS I don't need to wear as much sunscreen, especially on my forehead or my bald noggin. No more sting eyes. No more slippery bar.

Or try these polarised goggles that are designed for water sports. They also float which is a bonus. $79.95

shop.fuglies.com.au/goggles.html

+1 for hats. Since I started wearing a hat I simply don't get sore eyes any more. I used to wake up the day after a good session feeling like someone had taken a belt sander to my eyes overnight. A hat doesn't fog up and won't stab you in the eye either.

I've got an ocean + earth bucket hat as I want to protect my ears and neck a bit too, in addition to sunscreen. It seems like it will last a good few seasons. Many brands make similar hats and for me it was $25 well spent.

www.kurtisusa.com/ try these
best sunnies for water sports bar none

Sunnies that are sealed around you eye sockets steam up all the time, inlcuding the type advertised via a certain watersport-orientated website. I know as I bought a pair and they still fogged - but I kept the strap when the lenses were knackered from sand. More gap between your face and the lens = less condensation. I now get plastic $15 sunnies whenever I see them, particuarly if they are polarised, that are stuffed from sand and salt within a month but make a session so more enjoyable. Losing a $75 pair at sea ain't worth it. Check out the cheap polarised safety glasses, with bits at the side, at industrial clothing shops. A bucket hat-sunnie combo makes any pre-6pm shesh bearable and it's as much as you can do without staying at home in a dark room fearing what lies under the bed. Will try the rainex tip as it might just be worth it.

Totally agree here. The cheapest the best, then no one wants to steal them either.
Fogging is an issue with most of the goggle type but these don't fog because of larger air gaps.

A common issue is sunscreen smudges all over them which makes them opaque.
If one gets into the habit of washing in a little detergent then polishing with a tissue, they work perfectly each session and remain clear.

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alverstone said...

Sunnies that are sealed around you eye sockets steam up all the time, inlcuding the type advertised via a certain watersport-orientated website. I know as I bought a pair and they still fogged - but I kept the strap when the lenses were knackered from sand. More gap between your face and the lens = less condensation. I now get plastic $15 sunnies whenever I see them, particuarly if they are polarised, that are stuffed from sand and salt within a month but make a session so more enjoyable. Losing a $75 pair at sea ain't worth it. Check out the cheap polarised safety glasses, with bits at the side, at industrial clothing shops. A bucket hat-sunnie combo makes any pre-6pm shesh bearable and it's as much as you can do without staying at home in a dark room fearing what lies under the bed. Will try the rainex tip as it might just be worth it.

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pedleym said...

www.kurtisusa.com/ try these
best sunnies for water sports bar none

I've got the Kurtis (I've got one of all of them ) I don't use them. They were a bit disappointing. The foam blocks on the lenses are a bit fragile and get in the way when you're trying to clean them and put on the anti-fog coating.

I use Sea Specs. They're the same as the Seabreeze but you get 3 pairs for $100. Not so much drama when you break or loose them.

PS I own, Kurtis, Sea Specs, Oakley Waterjackets, Spex USA. The Oakleys are expensive and crap. Kurtis expensive, ok but a little annoying to use. Spex look like Fearless Fly. Sea Specs are cheap and cheerful and generally ok.

hat every time(not gonna stop a board in the eye), i wear contacts and have only ever had one pair washed out in 4 years and that was early on learning i think i have learned to close my eyes really tight before impact

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Gorgo said...

pedleym said...

www.kurtisusa.com/ try these
best sunnies for water sports bar none

I've got the Kurtis (I've got one of all of them ) I don't use them. They were a bit disappointing. The foam blocks on the lenses are a bit fragile and get in the way when you're trying to clean them and put on the anti-fog coating.

I use Sea Specs. They're the same as the Seabreeze but you get 3 pairs for $100. Not so much drama when you break or loose them.

PS I own, Kurtis, Sea Specs, Oakley Waterjackets, Spex USA. The Oakleys are expensive and crap. Kurtis expensive, ok but a little annoying to use. Spex look like Fearless Fly. Sea Specs are cheap and cheerful and generally ok.

i dont use the anti fog wax, and most of the time i forget i'm wearing them until it gets dark. just spit on them before you
head out, and they dont hurt when u faceplant and eat s$!t

my old man had some pretty wicked pterygium after years of being in the ocean.

went and got em checked by the eye doc, who told him the only solution was surgery - where they use a local anesthetic then scrape em off your eyes while you are watching. This didnt really appeal to dad so he decided to leave them until they got bad enough that watching someone scrape your eyeball with a knife was a better option.

one day he went to see gonzo (semi famous perth witchdoctor) who told him that a few drops of fresh lemon juice in each eye once a week would have them gone in two months.

dad - but wont that hurt?
gonzo - **** yes!

he did it, now no pterygium. Ive got a good one growing, so i do it intermittently to keep it at bay. and yes it does hurt

I find polarised sunnies crap for kiting with. Makes to chop/waves much harder to judge, and also harder to judge landings etc.

Sun+eyes=

Good topic. Good on you Jetstream, very thorough. The worse your eyes become the more you value them. I always wear my industrial sunnies with a strap, under a surf peaked cap. Never lose them with this method. I'll try your Rainex tips. But even if you have to lower them down around your chin during a session due to visability through the lense they have still given you protection for a period & damage is cumulative.
thanks
Col

Just like to add that I've had some near misses heading out into the sun with the sunnie-hat combo ensuring that, with a setting sun, anyone crashed in the water is just a hard-to-see silouette against a backdrop of silouetted black waves. Perth needs a coast that goes east-west not north south. Can we build one? The surfers got their artificial reef at Cables 10-odd years ago ....

^^^I believe woodies would be your spot

Hats might protect your eyes from direct sunlight, but don't forget about sunlight reflecting off the water.

How can anybody spend $3500 on gear then moan about a few $ spent on sunnies that save your sight not to mention the hours squinting.
As for sunscreen try Hamiltons quad block F30 sunscreen, it needs to be washed of with a towel it sticks to you like sh., on a blanket and wont run into your eyes.

Now whats the wind doing at the weekend.

Bucket hat is the way to go, agree spend a few dollar on getting sea spec rather than squinting for days. I have sensitive eyes and kiting non-style means a regular spray of water into my face and the occasional dunking. I found I need some eye drops after, else I walk around with bloodshot eyes. Tried a few and came across sustain, comes in small one time packs, half before my session can seal and then two drops after.

Extract from The Cancer Council Australia

"Health effects of UV radiation on the eyes

Repeated exposure of the eyes to UV radiation causes both short-term eye complaints and permanent eye damage. Short-term complaints include mild irritations such as excessive blinking, swelling, or difficulty looking at strong light.1 UV exposure can also cause acute photo keratopathy, which is essentially sunburn of the cornea, like snow blindness or welders flash burns.
Exposure to UV radiation over long periods can result in more serious damage to the eyes. This includes cataracts (cloudiness of the lens); pterygium (pronounced tur-rig-i- um), an overgrowth of the conjunctiva on to the cornea; solar keratopathy (cloudiness of the cornea); cancer of the conjunctiva (the membrane covering the white part of the eye); and skin cancer of the eyelids and around the eyes.1-8 It has been estimated that 10% of cataracts are potentially due to UVB radiation exposure to the eye.9 Around 160,000 cataracts are treated in Australia each year at a cost of $320 million.9 It is estimated that almost half of the 8600 cases of pterygium treated annually in Australia are also caused by sun exposure.
...
Sunglasses and fashion spectacles that meet the Australian Standard should be labelled with AS/NZS 1067:2003 and a category number. Fashion spectacles (Categories 0 and 1) are not sunglasses and do not provide adequate protection against UV radiation.
Some sunglasses may also be labelled with an EPF number, developed by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority (ARPANSA) ranging from 1 to 10. Sunglasses labelled EPF of 9 or 10 transmit very little UV radiation.13 Other sunglasses may be labelled UV 400 (blocking 100% of UV) or state the amount of UV radiation blocked as a percentage such as 99.9% or 100%.
For the best protection, use wraparound, close fitting, large-lens sunglasses that help to reduce reflected UV radiation and glare that can pass around the edge of the sunglasses and reach the eyes."

Reference:
www.cancer.org.au/file/policypublications/pseyeprotectionaug06.pd

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alverstone said...

Just like to add that I've had some near misses heading out into the sun with the sunnie-hat combo ensuring that, with a setting sun, anyone crashed in the water is just a hard-to-see silouette against a backdrop of silouetted black waves. Perth needs a coast that goes east-west not north south. Can we build one? The surfers got their artificial reef at Cables 10-odd years ago ....

It doesn't matter which way the coast is aligned, the sun will still set in the West and the wind will still come from the South, hence we would be heading straight into it on the way out (or across)

My eyes are stuffed from years of sun and surf so I wear a hat (o&e bucket) and sunnies (fuglies or sundogs) nearly every session, yep not a good look but I can't see myself.

Polarised glasses are good but do make it hard to judge the surface of the water at times.

i've had 3 pterygiums removed.
having a local anaesthetic in your eye and watching the knife scrape away at your eyeball is not something i recommend.

having said that, i can't stand wearing sunnies while in or on the water. it feels way too restrictive and ruins the whole experience.

yes, i am an idiot...

I have a pteridgium and are terrified of the surgery option. I might brave up and give the lemon a go. Its better than having an operation with a 70% chance of regrowth.

Ps I wear sunnies all the time now while kiting and it's made a huge difference to its growth rate

Whilst we are on the subject of pterygiums.

I surfed heaps in my younger days, nearly everyday after work I would be looking out into the glare on the West Coast and developed one on my left eye that was getting bigger every year, I then went through a stage of full on work, mortgage, kids etc so very little surfing and it virtually disappeared.

Now I know nothing much about them but through my own experience sun, surf, saltwater and the glare off it in the afternoon seemed to be directly responsible.
I have been pretty heavily back on the water in the last 10 years and although it is still there it is not getting any bigger and I would put that down to wearing sunnies and a hat whilst kiting and more often than not a hat whilst surfing/SUPing.

Look after your eyes.

I had these things growing on my eyes after many years of windsurfing. I went to the eye specialist who told me that they were caused by uv basically sunburnt eyeballs. The major cause is the reflected sun off the water not the sun in the sky. Luckily I caught them early and they never grew any more and in fact almost disappeared.

The recommended solution was polarized sun glasses at all times while on the water, tinted lenses are not as good at blocking the reflected sun. I have done this ever since. Not worth the risk stuffing with your eyesight!!! I have used a variety ranging from the safety glasses because hopefully they won't break into your eyes if you stack, to sea specs that I use know. Usually just wash with a bit of dish detergent after each session and don't have any fogging issues.

Actually don't know how you can possibly kite without them when the sun is low in the afternoon sky anyway.

FOR THE COST OF A BEER Protect your Eyes for only $5.

Just been to a trade show and seen these great UVEX PHEOS safety glasses, where they demonstrated the antifog/ antiscratch coating. Very impressive! They are great for about $5 each from good Safety shops like Coventries and come in a range of tints colours.
Specs:
Scratch-resistant and anti-fog. The supravision HC-AF coating technology makes the uvex pheos lens highly scratch resistant on the outside and permanently anti-fog on the inside.
Provides 100 % UV protection.
Optimal eye coverage. The duo-spherical lens has additional curvature at the upper edge providing an integral brow guard for additional coverage.
Optimal eye coverage.
Enhanced ventilation.
High performance hinges (plastic and wont rust)

See
http://www.uvex-safety.com/en/products/eyewear/product-highlights-eyewear/?model=89&modelName=uvex+pheos

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Smithy said...

I
Actually don't know how you can possibly kite without them when the sun is low in the afternoon sky anyway.

I agree, went out yest at Brighton (Melb) without my Seaspecs and was squinting the whole time

I'd rather go see a eye doctor rather than go by bull**** remedies thats gets bandied around on forums. Some of these things can be cancers, why would you take the chance of damaging your eye or worse.

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Shan said...

I have a pteridgium and are terrified of the surgery option. I might brave up and give the lemon a go. Its better than having an operation with a 70% chance of regrowth.

Ps I wear sunnies all the time now while kiting and it's made a huge difference to its growth rate

The pics at the beginning of all these threads are cancers and all very dangerous.

What are the types of conjunctival tumors?

Melanoma: The most common malignant tumor in the eye is a melanoma, which usually occurs in adults or mature patients. Conjunctival melanoma appears as a brown or pink nodule on the white surface of the eye and carries a 20 percent risk for metastasis. Early treatment, while the tumor is still small, is very important because, in about half of the cases, it can invade other parts of the eye requiring extensive surgery.

Nevus: A nevus is essentially a small, flat mole made up of specific cells called nevus cells that are found in the skin and in eye tissues. These types of tumors do not interfere with tissue function and seldom develop into a malignant melanoma.

Primary Acquired Melanosis: This is a flat, brown pigmentation on the surface of the eye that generally occurs in adults. It does carry some risk of developing into a malignant melanoma.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma: This is a type of cancer that can occur on any skin surface, including the eye, where it appears as a pink nodule on the eye surface. It is malignant and can invade around the eye into the orbit and sinuses.

Lymphoma: These tumors look like salmon-colored patches on the eye and can be a sign of systemic lymphoma. A biopsy is usually performed to determine if the tumor is benign or malignant. Patients with lymphoid conjunctival tumors should have a complete medical examination.

Cyst: A cyst is defined as any type of thin-walled sac, usually containing a liquid or semisolid. Such a tumor can be normal or abnormal depending on the cause.

Inflammatory tumor: A tumor that usually develops from the body's protective response to injury, infection, or irritation.

How are conjunctival tumors treated?

Conjunctival tumors are often diagnosed by examination with a slit-lamp biomicroscopy. If small, these tumors can be photographed and followed for evidence of growth prior to treatment. Most treatments focus on avoiding large surgeries which may be associated with vision loss or loss of the eye. If a tumor is diagnosed as nonmalignant, it may require only observation. If it is a vascular tumor, it may need laser treatment.

If the tumors are raised or extend onto the cornea, a biopsy may be required. Current treatments for conjunctival cancers include surgical removal, cryotherapy (freezing), radiation therapy, and more recently, chemotherapy eye-drops. These eye drops are in the investigational stage for patients with conjunctival tumors. The entire eye surface is treated, and this treatment may decrease the chance of future scarring. Standard chemotherapy is used to treat systemic lymphomas. If the eye is the only site of the lymphoma, external beam radiation therapy may be used.

Conjunctival tumors are serious and, if left untreated, can invade the tissues around the eye, the sinuses, and the brain. It is critical to obtain an early diagnosis and treatment for any eye cancer problem.

Ref: www.visionrx.com/library/enc/enc_conjtum.asp

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jetstream said...

I'd rather go see a eye doctor rather than go by bull**** remedies thats gets bandied around on forums. Some of these things can be cancers, why would you take the chance of damaging your eye or worse.

Shan said...

I have a pteridgium and are terrified of the surgery option. I might brave up and give the lemon a go. Its better than having an operation with a 70% chance of regrowth.

Ps I wear sunnies all the time now while kiting and it's made a huge difference to its growth rate

fark yeah - stylin. sunnies (seaspecs) and hat with strap for me (strap protects massive wingnut ears) white zinc. No shorts over stingersuit. nothing under stingersuit. stingersuit severly warn in ass region with holes in front. arse crack visible through rear. holes at front let pubic hair poke through. If the shorts over wetty brigade look at me with disgust I sometimes like to fluff myself up a bit so my schlong is clearly visible

your there for a fun long time not to pick up douches. tarp up.

^^^ +1
When I noticed lumps growing on my eye balls I went straight to the doc and then a specialist I was lucky

It's the same as sun screen, prevention is the best medicine, start wearing glasses now and not when the symptoms appear...