How are contact lenses in the cockpit?
Evening,
This is a question for those professional pilots who wear contact lenses to the office. I currently wear monthly disposable soft lenses and am a few hours into the PPL course.
I'd be interested in knowing about how you find wearing contacts in the cockpit? Is there no noticable difference to when you wear them on the ground or in everyday life? I understand that the humidity is fairly low in most aircraft and this can lead to excessive drying - the slightly lower oxygen-content in the air has also been suggested to cause problems. I'm currently reading a very interesting paper that looks at pilots and contact lens wear but am interested in any firsthand comments.
I've recently read of a new (to me at least) type of contact lens made of silicone hydrogel which, apparently, allows something like 10 times more oxygen to the eye and is suitable for extended wear due to it not drying out as quickly as other types.
Like I say, just curious as I hope to go on to the professional licence and would like to know what some pilots wear and prefer. After a long day, my visual acuity can deterioate somewhat due to, I assume, drying out of the lens and corneal swelling (apparently caused by hypoxia...hence my interst in looking into hydrogels).
An intrigued,
V1R