Bad eyesight and waterparks

[Raginglikeacrazywoman12]

I am planning on booking a holiday where there’s a water park as my children would love it. My issue is I have terrible eye sight-I will be looking after both my children alone but need to really keep a close eye on (no pun intended) my youngest as he is autistic. I cannot safely do this without my glasses. Any suggestions from personal experience would be greatly received.

I wore my glasses with a sports strap at center parcs and managed the rapids no problem. I can't manage without my glasses

That's reassuring

I want to wear contacts in the spa

I wore them on holiday and made sure I didn't get my face wet when swimming

I do contacts with normal swimming goggles over the top.

I got a strap thing for my prescription sunglasses so I could wear them whilst going on the slides in Florida. At first I just went round without wearing them, but saw one of the life guards with his sunglasses fastened around his head and asked him where could I get one from. It's basically 2 little cloth tubes that fit over the handles of the frames and a strap that goes around the back of the head and a toggle thing to tighten it to keep the glasses secure. I wear contacts now but I'd never wear them in the pool or the sea. I spend enough time as it drinking half the ocean whilst swimming, without having to add in getting salt water in my eyes and trying to get my lenses out

I might tell DH you can get straps as he uses what looks like that old fashioned knicker elastic.

The opticians told me never to wear them whilst swimming or taking a shower and to also ensure my hands were completely dry before inserting them or removing them, due to the risk of infection in the water, tsp water included.

I stopped wearing contacts in the pool after two of my friends/colleagues got AK - one being hospitalised for 2 weeks. I'd got contacts in the first place to wear in the pool but decided the risk was too great

Thanks

These are disposables.

I am ultra careful

Yes same I just wear my lenses and wash them out after, they never fall out in the water why would they, they are stuck to our eyeballs! I know there is a risk but it’s extremely low and I need to be able to see my kids! I’ve tried wearing glasses before they just get wet and you can’t see so it’s pointless. After the scare stories about eye infections I went without my lenses but never again I couldn’t see my kids and squinted constantly it was not fun. I’ll take the chance!

Please don't worry about infections. I am -16.5 in my left and -7 in my right so I'm as blind as a bat! Worn lenses since aged 5 and been to dozens of water parks using disposable contact in my right eye (and a spare one in my trunks) and never had an infection nor have they ever fallen out in the water. Even on the worlds once fastest water slide, Summit Plumit!

I’ve always worn my lenses in water parks, but optician at my last appointment scared me a little, so I think I’ll get some (crazy expensive) prescription lenses for some Oakley sunglasses I love.
Going back to Florida next year so they’ll be handy for given my eyes a lens break anyway (@Daddydog , well done you, I am not brave enough for summit plummet)

My mate nearly lost her eyeballs to infection swimming with contact lenses in. She was 33 at the time and has permanent damage.

If refusing to wear lenses in the pool makes me "wrong" then fine, but I watched her sobbing and writhing in hospital, barely sleeping for days due to drops in her eyes every 30mins, so I think I'll keep my eyeballs intact thanks.

It's not an apocryphal tale, I saw it with my own, intact, albeit short sighted eyes and wish to keep them that way. The risk might seem small, but eyesight is way too important to me to fuck about with something so wholly avoidable.

Personally I find prescription googles useless.
They fog up at the worst moments and you have a small range of vision, they are no substitute for glasses when you need to scan a pool. They’re ok swimming alone, but not for really watching children.
My best solution was a hard small case and removing them only on slides. Either put it down your top or have on a strap

Yes it is a worry

If I go in water I make sure no water is in my eyes or on my face. Breast stroke

I wouldn't risk a water park

I removed lenses when showering

Don't wear reusable lenses and wash. Buy some disposables specifically for swimming and remove immediately after getting out. Reduces the risk a lot.

Contact lenses and goggles. You’re not even supposed to wear contacts in the shower.

I wear my glasses all the time.
On the water slides too.
I would be too blind without them.

There's only one slide that has ever taken my glasses off and that was that had a big bowl type shape at the bottom that you come out into with one hole in the middle so you're tipped upright going into the swimming pool which made them come off. But I wouldn't be going on one of those again! 😂

Been using contacts for years, both in pools and wild swimming. I usually wear monthlies, but have stash of slightly off prescription daily lenses that I pop in to swim, then bin at the end of swim. Never had an issue.

I’m going by what several opticians and hospital opthamologists have told me and the case studies.

When you get AK in your eye - what happens is they will cling to your contact lens, often go inside the lens as at microscopic level soft lenses are like sponges, especially the high water content ones.

If you have lenses that you wear more than once, that you take out, you clean & disinfect and then re-insert into your eye, the AK amoebas are not killed by the disinfectant. It only kills bacteria not amoebas. So your lens becomes a portal from which they can multiply and attack your cornea. (Only exception is the 8hr hydrogen peroxide disinfecting systems as hydrogen peroxide does kill amoebas)

That is why you can wear rigid or gas permeable lenses and shower or swim- AK amoebas can’t get inside them.

You can also wear disposible contact lenses that you then remove and throw away after swimming because if there is any AK amoebas, you toss them in the rubbish with the lenses. You can then flush your eyes with eye drops for extra safety and wait a few minutes before putting in new lenses.

Then your chances of developing AK are the same as anyone without contact lenses- usually our tears are enough to was the amoebas out, so those who get AK have compromised immune systems or have a scratch or eye injury for it to get a toe hold on.

You can only get AK from fresh water or tap water- so this doesn’t apply salt water.

Wearing swim goggles is an extra safety measure as well as keeping the water out of your eye works for everyone whether disposable contact lens wearer or no.

Problem is that regular contact disinfectant does not kill amoebas. That is why contact lens wearers are at higher risk of developing AK (the risk is still only 1-2 in a million), so you are gambling by reusing the contact lenses.

The only way to get to same risk as non contact lens wearers is to use disposable ones that you bin straight after getting out the pool or water park. Flush eyes and then wait a bit before putting new ones in. I usually get out pool, wash and dry hands, take out contact lenses and bin, shower, flush eyes with sterile saline eye drops, dry off & dress and only then put new contacts in.

Wearing swim goggles adds extra protection, but still should bin the contacts straight away.

Glasses and a glasses strap for me. Although reading this it sounds like that’s not an option at some places. I guess I would have to fork out for prescription goggles in that case!

yes that is sensible , I have two weekly lenses so usually need to reuse but I think a good idea to get some disposables for swimming then throw away after.

Woooo I thought it was only an issue in swim pools due to chemicals. I wear mine in shower and the bath otherwise I can’t see! So I’m not meant to wear at all in water? I’ve been wearing these for 15 years two weekly lenses too! Crickey

It is all fresh water. I have showered in my lenses but I shower before bed, so they come out and go in the bin within a hour or so of showering.

But again, the risk of AK is 1-2 in 1,000,000 for contact wearers and complete sight loss means ignoring symptoms for weeks before seeking medical attention.

As random comparisons,
-the lifetime risk of being struck by lighting is 1 in 15,300
-the lifetime risk of death by drowning is 1 in 1,302

Yes you are more likely to be struck by lightening or drown than you are to get AK from swimming with contact lenses in.

So I don’t quite know why we can’t be trusted to decide to wear contacts while swimming and mitigate the already tiny risks by extra hygiene steps and/or by wearing swim goggles.

Disposable lenses removed straight after and decent goggles to reduce the amount of water getting in the eyes. Then I wear glasses for the rest of the day/evening to ensure my eyes have had a good clear out. The only way for me who is - 11 and - 10.25.