Contact Lenses

[Alexei St.John Mollusc]

Can any colleagues comment on the wearing of contact lenses while flying. Any problems experienced?

[Boss Raptor]

Never had any problems...but I do prefer my glasses at night as I find the strength of the runway lights can sometimes be too intense with contacts in...just a personal thing...

I have 75% water content soft lenses and with my glasses I have the 'anti reflective' coating that cuts down on internal reflection, a must for driving or flying at night I find.

[This message has been edited by Boss Raptor (edited 13 November 2000).]

[Ozgrade3]

I've worn contact lenses for 15 years, and wear them flying(GA) now without any difficulty. I'm currently wearing a new type of lens, the extended wear, high breathabliity lense with no ill effects after 18 hr days. Note, the lenses are marketed as ones you can wear for 30 days straight, but I strongly recomend you remove and soak the leans each night.

[Suggs]

I'v worn my lens for 10 years + now. I first wore soft lens but I now wear gas Permiable.
i've never had any problems in them. I've slept in em, not recommended, I regularly swim in them, but never wear them on the beach.

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Graham McPherson

[fobotcso]

Concur with everything here - except for the night thing. My own experience is that I prefer the contact lenses at night; there's a bit less light scatter. But then I'm reduced to driving only now. Flying is a distant dream... You'll need reserve glasses, of coure. But in many years of flying in contacts, I never had to remove one of them and revert to glasses.

[moe]

Have been using them for 10 years now with no problems, if anything they are better than specs as you have full corrected vision.

I fly long-haul and have switched to daily disposables, useful as I get bunk rest on many of my sectors. The lenght of time I can get away wearing them is surprisingly long (10 hours, not recommended though) for a dry atmosphere.

They take a while to get used to though, but stick with it, it's worth it.

[Chilli Monster]

Been wearing Monthly disposables for 5 years now. Don't have any problems flying (GA)in them day or night (more comfortable) but in a dry atmosphere the 14 hours the optician reckons comes down to about 10. Keep a set of 'revive' contact lens eye drops handy if you get dry eyed.

Also allowed to wear them as an ATCO - MUCH prefer them to specs for work

[woftam]

moe,
Just curious? Do you take the lenses out for bunk rest and put a new pair in after sleep?
Or do you sleep in them?
Does anyone sleep with their lenses in?

[inverted flatspin]

I wear the soft lenses and in every circumstance I see better with the lenses than glasses. If I take a short nap I usually leave the lenses in but anything more than a few hours I take them out. I have slept overnight with them in but my eyes feel very dry in the morning. I have on occasion worn lenses for 72 hrs continuously, but they feel more comfortable when I rinse them daily.

[Bird Strike]

I wear disposable ones continuously (I sleep with them in). Never had any problems whatsoever even on ultra-longhaul flights (as a pax), including sleeping with them in on the flight.

If your eyes tend to dry out, I recommend you to get high quality contact lens eye drops (moisturising type) that you can use whilst wearing them, or try different types of lenses (optometrist often has samples for you to try).

For flying and driving, I find that contact lenses are much nicer than spectacles (much less risk of dropping them for a start, and no reflections etc.). Another benefit is that no prescription sunglasses are needed as you just pop the normal sunglasses on when necessary.
I was also told by optometrist that contact lenses cause much less eye fatigue that spectables do, as long as they suit you well.

Good luck

[chopperman]

I wear bifocals nowadays, could I wear contact lenses and a pair of 'half moon' glasses for reading?

Chopperman.

[100above]

Cant comment on wearing contact lenses and glasses at the same time, but as far as contact lenses go, I've been wearing gas permeable ones for over 10 years and flying commercially with them for the last 2. Tend to give better peripheral vision during the day and they allow you to put sunglasses on/off as required, but I find EFIS screens and runway lights tend to blur somewhat with them at night, so I always revert to my glasses for night flights.