Re: [at-l] contact lenses on trail?

[ejbaker <ejbaker@sover.net>]

just a thought for anyone who might have been pondering this:
	look into Lasik surgery if you're very nearsighted (or farsighted--there's
FDA approved procedure now, my dad was part of the experimental group and
he's gone from needing bifocals and an extra pair to nothing at all) and
you travel a lot or are becoming disillusioned with contacts (and you're a
bit adventurous).
	I wore extended lenses for about 23 years and thought they were fine, if a
pain to keep clean etc. at times.  My dad convinced me to get surgery to
correct myopia last December (impetus being this hike).  I was scared to
death before but elated afterwards.  After being unable to see more than 3
inches further than my hands since I was a kid, I now almost have forgotten
what wearing glasses or contacts are like (other than sometimes at night
when I start trying to take my contacts out).  A good surgeon is expensive
(it was about 6000 for me) but the amount saved in glasses, contacts, eye
problems etc. over the years will add up to that quickly AND seeing is
amazing.  He even corrected my astigmatism.
	I know this is not for everyone, but it's a realistic choice for a few.
				EJ


At 04:51 PM 3/6/00 -0600, you wrote:
>I wear extended wear contacts, have for years.  I have to take them out only
>once a week.  One week, I clean them and leave them out overnight.  The next
>week, I take them out one night and put new ones in the next morning.  I
>always carry an extra pair.  And I plan to have new ones in my mail drops.
>I've never had any trouble with them during a hike.  In fact, that's why I
>got them: so that I could see where I'm putting my feet while I'm hiking.  I
>used to wear bifocal glasses, and had to walk with my head down to see over
>the reading section.  Now, my left contact is for distance, while the right
>one is for reading.  Works amazingly well.  Leslie
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: rhymworm@mindspring.com <rhymworm@mindspring.com>
>To: at-l@backcountry.net <at-l@backcountry.net>
>Date: Monday, March 06, 2000 8:55 AM
>Subject: [at-l] contact lenses on trail?
>
>
>>Unless I'm wrong, you'd still need to disinfect and treat your two-week
>disposables every night. That might be a problem.
>>
>>I wore the Accuvue daily disposables on my thruhike and had no problems. I
>didn't want to be disinfecting lenses on the Trail, as it's a very grimy
>environment. My practice was to wear each fresh pair for two days and a
>night, sleep every other night lens-less, and put in a fresh pair on the
>third morning. It required some careful cleaning of hands, but worked OK for
>me. This way I didn't have to carry a lot of heavy saline solution, just a
>tiny bottle (I used a recycled Visene bottle about the size of my thumb) to
>wet the fresh lenses when I was putting them in. The fresh lenses, which I
>sent to myself in maildrops, are stored in sealed foil containers that are
>less likely to become contaminated by trail and shelter grime than is a
>standard lens case.
>>
>>FWIW, an eye doctor would tell you NOT to sleep wearing the lenses, as it
>increases risk of eye infection. But I figured that it was a greater risk of
>eye infection to be putting dirty trail fingers in my eyes twice a day, and
>trying to disinfect and reuse lenses in a dirty environment. So, as I said
>above, every other night I left lenses in overnight, then replaced them with
>clean new lenses.
>>
>>My impression is that the daily-wear disposable lenses are thinner and
>lighter, and were at one time referred to as "extended wear" lenses (which
>the user could wear while sleeping), before product liability suits forced
>the manufacturer to stop making that claim.
>>
>>--Rhymin' Worm
>>(Robert Rubin)
>>
>> >I'm planning a section hike for April and am a new wearer of contact
>lenses
>>>(2-week disposables).  It seems like the degree of hygiene required to
>>>maintain them would be hard to achieve on the trail.  Anyone have any
>>>experience they care to share?  TIA,
>>>
>>>Big Blue Frog
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>
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