I'm having delimma. Brit is due for a vision correction update and is wanting contacts. I'm thinking she'll still need sports glasses for the river, based on what others have told me re: the trials and tribulations of wearing contacts in whitewater. Anyone have any experience with giving contacts to pre-teens .. i.e. Brit's age (will be 11 end of May)? Would appreciate any advice.
Wes

Wes, I got the coveted contacts when I was in six grade, so 11 or 12? I've worn them ever since. Back then, I wore gas permeable hard contacts, mostly because soft contacts were available but very expensive and kids my age were prone to tear them. Since my junior year of high school, though, I've worn soft contacts and they are great and very comfortable. I now wear the kind that are 30-day disposable. I wear them day and night, sleeping in them. They are the kind that are approved for this.

With all of that said, I've never opened my eyes under water because it is unpleasant. I don't do it now, for fear that the contacts will come out. I will say that I was afraid I'd lost one in Radio Waves, last weekend, because I got a big, unexpected splash in the face at some point and hadn't closed my eyes. All was fine, though. They weren't lost and I didn't suffer any ill affects of having river water in my eyes.

If she's responsible enough to keep up with them (cleaning, etc. if not disposable) and be gentle with them, I think it would be fine. She'll adjust quickly as long as she's not skittish about touching her eyeball to put them in/take them out.

Hey Wes as long as she is willing to boat with you, I personally would spring for the contacts as long as there are no health risk to wearing them. My daughters boated with me for years and lost interest as they became teenagers. Contacts are a minimal expense when you consider that you are getting to boat with your daughter and she seems to be having fun. I would encourage her to boat with other kids her age if that is an option. I would guess that the NOC might even have a class for kids her age. MKC would be an excellent option also. Good luck and enjoy her boating with you. tim m
Perhaps contacts and goggles?

I'm blind (legally, really). I wear contacts and I can't tell you the number of times I've had them get stuck in the back of my brain after catching a big wave to the face. Consequently, this seems to happen on the biggest rapids, so I am normally finishing a rapid off with one eye open with limited vision (and I really mean limited). It scares the crap out of me. I honestly think it really holds me back. It's one of the reasons playboating has never interested me. So far, I've only lost one contact (on the Tellico) but I keep two spare pairs in my pfd at all times.

That being said, I love contacts (I also started wearing them around 12 yrs old), but I hate kayaking in them. At this point, I don't really have a choice. I need to, and have threatened to look into some sort of goggles. Even sunglasses would most likely help with splashes. I just haven't been very proactive with it.

But anyway, Brit's vision won't be nearly as bad as mine, so if she loses one on the water (she'll want disposables) it won't be a big deal. Just make sure to have back-ups. If you are really worried about it, get her to wear sports goggles when she boats and contacts when she's not boating/sporting.

Hope this helps.
bethany

Wes, I have boated for 25 years in contacts. Love them. Only lost one or two in all that time. I do blink when I sense a wave hit me in the face or dropping into the meat of something. I have opened my eyes under water before as well. Somehow, they always stay glued to my eyeball. I could not handle the water beading and fog on glasses or goggles. But, to each their own on that as I have friends that paddle in glasses all the time.
Brent

brentaustin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> But, to each their own on
> that as I have friends that paddle in glasses all
> the time.

I'm one of them, but seriously thinking of getting contacts. I have great difficulty with fogging glasses, as I get more and more into winter kayaking. I am reading this thread with great interest.
Chris S

Chris Schardl

Let the kid have the contacts. My daughter got them at that age and never had a problem. Keep the old glasses though for the whitewater if needed.

Dallas

Dallas

Also sprach Dallas!

Chris S

Chris Schardl

I also paddle in contacts and have for 28 years. They are great. I have used both the soft and the hard (gas permeable). I've been wearing contacts since 1967:-)

I didn't like the soft due to situation Bethany described. When your hit in the face with water the lens can move around on your eye and the water tends to get under them resulting in blurred vision till they clear - which sometimes takes several looong seconds to happen.

I love the gas permeable in whitewater because the water does not get under them and will just sheet off instead leaving nice, clear vision. I've only lost a couple in all the years I've been paddling.

Soft lens are very easy to get used to and are usually comfortable to wear even for the first time user. Using disposables mean no cleaning and I know people who wear the same lens for a lot longer than a day - although doing that is not recommended. When I wore them, I liked the "extended wear" soft lenses the most as I could sleep in them and wear them for days without taking them out. Not sure if they still make these as some people had problems wearing them that long.

Hard lenses offer much better visual acuity than the soft and one pair of the hard contacts can last for years if properly cared for. They must be cleaned daily and taken out at night. I usually wear mine for 16+ hrs/day. They are however much tougher to get used to and way less comfortable for the new wearer than the soft.

Good luck with whatever you go for.
barryg

slight threadjack, still on topic though...........apologies........

Hmmmmmmm. Maybe I should try hard lenses..........interesting.

Do you open your eyes under water Barry?