The underwater world teems with life so seeing the vibrant corals, brightly patterned fishes, and hazy blue-green ocean floor gives you an experience only about 5% of the world’s population has shared. If you’re interested in seeing it for yourself but are worried you can’t because you wear contact lenses allow us to put your mind at ease.
Contact lenses wearers who want to learn to scuba dive should know they can dive safely in their lenses as long as they keep a few simple things in mind while diving.
Soft contact lenses are recommended for scuba diving.
Hard and gas permeable lenses are rigid and can be susceptible to painful suction to the eye as the pressure increases in deeper water. Also, gas permeable lenses allow gases to pass through to the eye. During an ascent, nitrogen bubbles can form between the lens and the eye, causing blurry vision.
Keep your eyes closed when performing underwater skills such as mask flooding and mask removal.
Just as swimming underwater with your eyes open risks one or both lenses floating off the eye(s) the same thing could happen when clearing or retrieving your mask.
Tell your dive buddy you are wearing contact lenses.
If the unlikely situation should arise your buddy will know to retrieve your lost mask for you should you be unable to do so.
Use lubricating drops in your eyes before and after each dive.
Also, blink more than usual during the dive. You will need to keep your lenses moist and ward off irritation.
You may find rinsing your lenses during surface intervals washes away any residual salt water that could lead to dry irritated eyes.
Some other things to consider
- Disposable lenses are a good choice for dive trips as they can be changed out at the end of the diving day.
- Prescription lenses are available for your scuba mask should you decide diving with contacts is too uncomfortable. Contact Dolphin Dive Center for details on prescription lenses.
- And for divers who find it increasingly difficult to see close up but don’t require a full prescription lenses Dolphin Dive Center can help you with other visual aids as well such as Dive Optx adhesive lenses.
If you have other questions or would like to discuss scuba please feel free to contact us directly via phone, email, or fill out the form on this page.