contact lenses and MTB'ing

Northwind

How often will you wear them though? A month's supply of dailies lasts me half a year.

meesterbond

Once you've got your prescription you can buy the lenses online.. I use Vision Direct who are very good and the lenses do work out a little cheaper, £30 for 30 pairs of Acuvue 1 Day ones.

I tend to wear glasses most of the time so a pack of 90 pairs will last most of the year.

the article don

I wear semi permamnent lenses - they go in once a month and sleep in them every night. I love them.

I get them from here:

http://www.visiondirect.co.uk/

£26 would get you 90 daily lenses. Much cheaper than Optical Express etc. When you need an eye test, most work[places give you a free one if you sit in front of a VDU.

When out riding only drawbacks are if something goes in your eye ( I'm sure a front mudguard woudl help but let's face it, they ruin the look of a bike) or is you spend a lot of time going downhill fast, teh lenses can go foggy afterwards. Both of these can be solve with this:

http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/refresh- ... 50987.html

getonyourbike

Stuart_C wrote:

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

omg, that's a massive prescription
it really isn't -20 is fairly massive. -9 is 'moderate'

*waves*

-20 over here. Haven’t used my lenses in a while, should really pull them out and give them a go on the bike.

Due to my prescription and astigmatism, apparently I can only wear hard lenses, so dailies are a no go for me.

As others have said, the depth perception is what will confuse you when swapping to lenses, especially if your prescription is strong. 1st thing I remember when I put lenses in for the 1st time was that everything seemed about 20% bigger. I was straight off to the toilet!

can you see anything without glasses on? That must be hard work to live with, if you take your glasses off can you find them again? I'm glad I'm not you.

bennett_346

Jesus -20? Seriously?

I thought i had difficulty at -1.5 and -1.75!

MountainMonster

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

omg, that's a massive prescription
it really isn't -20 is fairly massive. -9 is 'moderate'

Are you -20?

My dad had a certificate for being legally blind, and I think he's only at like -14 or something.

singlespeedexplosif

Nah, just -8.25.

having 20/20 while looking to the side and behind you makes a massive difference.
20/20 is of course not particularly fantastic vision...;)




also possibly some hand sanitiser

WIN

Obviously (?), rinse with some water
FAIL
water & contacts = not a good idea. Rinse with sterile saline by all means but never, ever, ever water.

Nachimir

Why not? Did that myself, then dried hands before handling the lenses and all was fine.

bennett_346

Rinsing with tap water from your local area isn't so bad. That is if you're wearing dailies.

There's no reason why it wouldnt be.

Cheshley

I bought disposable daily contact lenses to wear whilst riding because my prescription Oakleys (clear and sunglasses) cost £400 each to replace.

I get my lenses from http://www.lensway.co.uk/contact-lenses, which I found to be the cheapest place when I last ordered some. I don't wear them often enough to be able to put them in quickly or without a mirror, so I carry a small bottle of hydrating eye drops for when they start to feel scratchy and I have a pair of glasses in a metal Oakley Vault case in my Camelbak in case I lose a lens (which has only happened once). Contact Lenses and a pair of Bolle Contour glasses are the way forward

t666dom

A word of warning as an Optometrist DO NOT USE TAP WATER TO CLEAN OR RINSE CONTACT LENSES, ESPECIALLY WARM TAP WATER.

Try googling Acanthamoeba keratitis and you'll see why!

Dailies are probably your best bet for mountain biking, at least you can have a few spare pairs in case one comes out or you get some mud in your eye. You should only let sterile saline or CL solution come into contact with the lenses. For God's sake don't lick them either, it's safer to piss on them than to lick them, but don't do that either!!!

Stuart C, you could get soft contact lenses with a prescription of -20, dailies and monthlies would be out, it'd have to be a custom made3 month/6 month or 12 month lens, problem is they're expensive and made from older style lens materials so they don't let as much O2 through the lens. A hard [RGP] lens would be better health wise but potentially not as stable as a soft lens.

Davy-g

thanks for all the input.. I have been looking around for cheaper lenses...

MountainMonster

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

Nah, just -8.25.

having 20/20 while looking to the side and behind you makes a massive difference.
20/20 is of course not particularly fantastic vision...;)




also possibly some hand sanitiser

WIN

Obviously (?), rinse with some water
FAIL
water & contacts = not a good idea. Rinse with sterile saline by all means but never, ever, ever water.

That's not tooooo bad, just about what i've got. Very dangerous if you lose your glasses or break a lens while riding.

20/20 would be heaven sent for me, even if not the best. At least it's normal. I've been thinking of maybe getting that laser eye surgery to see if that helps.

Nachimir

t666dom wrote:

A word of warning as an Optometrist DO NOT USE TAP WATER TO CLEAN OR RINSE CONTACT LENSES, ESPECIALLY WARM TAP WATER.

Ah, I see. singlespeedexplosif failed to read my post:

rinse with some water and rub hands dry between using the stuff and touching lenses

Hand sanitiser kills germs but doesn't get muck off your hands, hence the washing and drying them. I wouldn't rinse lenses with water.

singlespeedexplosif

Ah, I see. singlespeedexplosif failed to read my post:

Quote:
rinse with some water and rub hands dry between using the stuff and touching lenses


actually did read the post. And if that's what you meant, then I suggest you put the 'hands' bit immediately after 'rinse', rather than after 'rub'

stuart_c-2

getonyourbike, I can "find" things when my glasses are off. It is often amusing when other people try on my glasses (a strange obsession) that when they try and give them back they pretty much have to place them in my hands. It's a bit like looking through a seriously out of focus camera, you can see shapes, but no defnition.

t666dom, yeah I was told that hard lenses are healthier anyway. When I've used them previously they've not been for anything active so not sure how they'd hold up in rough terrain.

Nachimir

t666dom, top man for adding some professional advice!

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

actually did read the post. And if that's what you meant, then I suggest you put the 'hands' bit immediately after 'rinse', rather than after 'rub'

It was a discussion about hand sanitiser, and "DRY" implies that hands would be "WET". I suggest you put your 'computer' up your 'bum' and stay away from the 'internet', you 'pedant'.

singlespeedexplosif

tbh I always carry a little bottle of alcohol hand rub for these very occasions. If you're not somewhere with soap and water (as with most of my rides!) it's by far the best way to clean your hands if you need to deal with your lenses.
Sure it may smart a bit for a second or two but it is *far* better than getting Acanthamoeba or Pseudomonas in your peepers..

KevLeon

I wear my contacts to cycle and I got mine from a website. I’ve bought in other places before but this one it’s the best, the quality is definitely better and so is the price.

PXR5

I'm about -9 and have been wearing hard contacts for about 30 years, think i've only been through about 4 pairs in that time, for me they just last ages, despite the sort of behaviour that will drive t666dom mad...
They get soaked every night, but often in same solution, washed in tap water, and licked clean with spit during the day if dirty !!!!
Only problem is that i cracked one lens recently when i got hit in the eye !
Hirt a bit but still tried to wear it ....
Wear them for all sports, but yes a good set of glasses is essential for cycling as all crap that gets sprayed into your face /eyes will make your eyes water making it necessary to stop and clean.

One tip....never ever ever ever take your lenes out or put them in if you've been working in the kitchen and chopping up chillies - its so unbelievably painful, and the chilli chemical gets absorbed into the grease on the top layer of your skin, so a hand scrub is essential..

gregghompson

I have wearing contact lenses every Sunday to walking at mountain area even I ride the small mountain and jumping. No problem with my contact lenses.






Contact Lenses Without Prescription Circle Contact Lenses

Davy-g

have been happily wearing contacts for a few months now with no problems at all.. I also purchased a pair of clear cycling glasses for eye protection...

many thanks for all the input regarding the wearing of contacts and MTB'ing...

8) 8) 8)