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Leif

Eyesight correction

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I’m wondering what others with poor eyesight do to correct it. When I started hockey, I wore glasses beneath a full face cage, but they steamed up and got covered with drops of sweat. They sit close to my face which did not help.  I then went to soft contact lenses, which don’t give such good sight correction as glasses, and I struggle to get them in, probably because of dry eyes. The last time I went through six trying to get two in. They drop out, slide to the side, fold over, and refuse to stick to my eye rather than my finger. I loathe them. I’m now on RGP (hard) contacts. The sight correction is far better, very easy to put in, but I’m still going through the adaptation process, and wore them today for the second time, for four hours, very comfy on ice, uncomfortable off, but the discomfort will go in a few weeks. I wore them for ten years when much younger, and don’t remember having to break them in. 

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Have you considered LASIK/PRK or CLE?  I know the out of pocket cost is high, but there's no need for glasses or contacts afterwards.

I had the same issues getting the soft contacts in at first, but you adapt to it after time.

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Similar boat here. Hated soft contacts but needed them for skating. I had a new procedure done, called ReLEX SMiLE. It's the same laser as LASIK but rather than creating a full flap, they create a "donut" under the surface of your eye that is extracted through a much smaller, laser-created, incision. My vision has been stable at 20/15 for 2 years since the procedure. I'd highly recommend speaking with a surgeon about your laser vision correction options.

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28 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

I’ll be doing PRK soon. Maybe 2019.

I don't know how old you are, but at least do a consult for CLE before doing refractive laser surgery.  Even with LASIK/PRK, your vision will degrade as you age, and you may need adjustments or glasses/contacts down the line.  Plus, the surgery can accelerate cataracts.  And, improvements are limited to your physiology.  CLE replaces the lens of your eye with a perfect artificial one.  20/20+ vision, no degradation, no adjustments, no cataracts.

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I had Lasik done at the Orange County LASIK Institute. Before Lasik I was nearly blind and could not do much of anything without glasses or contacts. After Lasik I have better than 20/20 vision. I was concerned before I got it that my astigmatism would result in a mixed outcome but I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I actually use multiple 5K displays for my day job and have no issues with seeing the fonts at full resolution. I had my procedure completed in  2012.

Edited by Nicholas G
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2 hours ago, Leif said:

I’m wondering what others with poor eyesight do to correct it. When I started hockey, I wore glasses beneath a full face cage, but they steamed up and got covered with drops of sweat. They sit close to my face which did not help.  I then went to soft contact lenses, which don’t give such good sight correction as glasses, and I struggle to get them in, probably because of dry eyes. The last time I went through six trying to get two in. They drop out, slide to the side, fold over, and refuse to stick to my eye rather than my finger. I loathe them. I’m now on RGP (hard) contacts. The sight correction is far better, very easy to put in, but I’m still going through the adaptation process, and wore them today for the second time, for four hours, very comfy on ice, uncomfortable off, but the discomfort will go in a few weeks. I wore them for ten years when much younger, and don’t remember having to break them in. 

You have probably just forgotten about  the adaptation when you were younger. Give it a little time. RGPs will ultimately give you the best acuity of all of the vision correction options.

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Howdy,

Went through a similar thing here in terms of playing with glasses then going to soft contacts.  I still do the soft contacts, and I only wear them for hockey.  Putting them in gets significantly easier with practice.  My advice would be to stick with the contacts until they become more routine.

As for vision correction surgery... I was all set to do that (lasik) but at this point I'm happy I didn't.  I'm 48 and am at the age where presbyopia has started for me.  I'm nearsighted and with (single vision) glasses I can just look over the top of the frame to see things close up.  With contacts in, that's not an option and I have to have reading glasses if I want to be able to read anything small-ish within a few feet of my head (read: phone, small print on anything, etc.)  It's a little amazing how foreign and irritating that is for me, and it would be required all the time if I'd had eye surgery.

Like the OP, I don't see quite as well with contacts as I do with glasses (reasonably strong nearsightedness plus astigmatism), but I see well enough to play hockey and like glasses otherwise so this has been working for me.  YMMV. 

 

I'll be curious to hear if the discomfort / whatever goes away with the hard lenses with a little more time!

Mark

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Yeah depending on your age I don’t recommend lasik. If your in your 20s the lasik will fade by the time your 40-50. If your older it’s not as serious as you’ll be older by the time it fades and it usually does naturally anyway. It’s worth mentioning you can get glasses after it fades though.

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41 minutes ago, marka said:

Howdy,

Went through a similar thing here in terms of playing with glasses then going to soft contacts.  I still do the soft contacts, and I only wear them for hockey.  Putting them in gets significantly easier with practice.  My advice would be to stick with the contacts until they become more routine.

As for vision correction surgery... I was all set to do that (lasik) but at this point I'm happy I didn't.  I'm 48 and am at the age where presbyopia has started for me.  I'm nearsighted and with (single vision) glasses I can just look over the top of the frame to see things close up.  With contacts in, that's not an option and I have to have reading glasses if I want to be able to read anything small-ish within a few feet of my head (read: phone, small print on anything, etc.)  It's a little amazing how foreign and irritating that is for me, and it would be required all the time if I'd had eye surgery.

Like the OP, I don't see quite as well with contacts as I do with glasses (reasonably strong nearsightedness plus astigmatism), but I see well enough to play hockey and like glasses otherwise so this has been working for me.  YMMV. 

 

I'll be curious to hear if the discomfort / whatever goes away with the hard lenses with a little more time!

Mark

CLE can insert bifocal lenses.  May be worth a look.

21 minutes ago, Novotnoa said:

Yeah depending on your age I don’t recommend lasik. If your in your 20s the lasik will fade by the time your 40-50. If your older it’s not as serious as you’ll be older by the time it fades and it usually does naturally anyway. It’s worth mentioning you can get glasses after it fades though.

Yep, that's where I'm at.  LASIK was 20/15 correction for a few years.  But now I'm over 40 as as Mark above, presbyopia is setting in, I'm back to wearing contacts for the time being until it stabilizes.

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How bad is your eyesight?  I have significant nearsightedness in one eye and mildly in the other, and I just go without for the game.  My teammate is also nearsighted, and I think he has anti-fog on his glasses, but he also wears a half shield and not a full cage. He tried the sport goggles but found they fogged too. 

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Nearsighted with astigmatism. I wear contacts for hockey. In fact, hockey was the main reason I got contacts. I, like you (the OP) struggled with contacts early on. In was easy, out was the difficult part. I'm at the point now where I can swap them out without a mirror. Stick with it, it gets easier.

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3 hours ago, psulion22 said:

Have you considered LASIK/PRK or CLE?  I know the out of pocket cost is high, but there's no need for glasses or contacts afterwards.

I had the same issues getting the soft contacts in at first, but you adapt to it after time.

I had forgotten about surgery. I also forgot to mention my age, 55, so surgery can’t correct near and far sight. To be honest I’m too scared of surgery, complications are rare, but far higher than winning the lottery, and since I like wearing glasses I don’t want to risk surgery on healthy organs. Plus I have early stage cataracts, so new lenses will go in in 10-15 years anyway. The cost is irrelevant, at my age I want to spend it rather than be buried with it. 

I’ve worn soft contacts for a year now, 3-4 times a week but only for hockey, and I still hate them. I just cannot get them to stick to the eye, I think my eyes are too dry. They normally fall out two to three times, before I get them in, and often fall out once in. 

2 hours ago, specs78 said:

You have probably just forgotten about  the adaptation when you were younger. Give it a little time. RGPs will ultimately give you the best acuity of all of the vision correction options.

I am sure you are right about the adaptation. Odd how my memory forgets so much from my youth. Yes the vision from RGP lenses is excellent. I’m prepared to work through the mild discomfort.  

24 minutes ago, badger_14 said:

How bad is your eyesight?  I have significant nearsightedness in one eye and mildly in the other, and I just go without for the game.  My teammate is also nearsighted, and I think he has anti-fog on his glasses, but he also wears a half shield and not a full cage. He tried the sport goggles but found they fogged too. 

I have -1.75 in my left eye, so fairly bad, and -0.5 in my right eye, so very minor. I can play without eye correction, but I don’t like it as I can’t identify team mates, or see the puck properly. Pity about the sport goggles. 

 

Thanks everyone for your replies, very thought provoking. It seems surgery is arguably the best solution, and I heard from a friend that his mum loves her post surgery eyesight, but I’m too big a wuss (coward) to take the albeit low risk.

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32 minutes ago, Leif said:

Thanks everyone for your replies, very thought provoking. It seems surgery is arguably the best solution, and I heard from a friend that his mum loves her post surgery eyesight, but I’m too big a wuss (coward) to take the albeit low risk.

Yup. Surgical outcomes are generally excellent...but not always.

Second point I'd make: I bet your vision in general is actually really useful with a -1.75/-0.50 combination. I am guessing your midrange and near vision is really good without glasses, and your distance isn't half bad either (as you said). A laser based procedure would likely create a whole new set of deficiencies in your near vision. I know hockey is important and all, but being able to read is pretty key for most people. CLE is an option with multifocal lenses, but I am not sure you would really gain much from a functional vision standpoint. Surgery can be a great options for the right set of eyes, but I still think you are on the right track with the RGPs.

Anyways, good luck!

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Try using eye drops before putting the contacts in. The moisture should help the lens stick to your eye better. I try to keep a bottle in my hockey bag just in case.

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I’m only 17, but I have needed visual aids since I was 6. I used glasses under my helmet till I was like 12, after that I wore contacts all day. I don’t have any problems with dry eyes; however, one of my teammates does and he uses these https://mobile.lens.com/contact-lenses/dailies-total-1/ they’re daily disposables. He says they helped. You may want to ask your eye doctor which brand/model will work best for your eyes because they come with different water contents.

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22 hours ago, Leif said:

When I started hockey, I wore glasses beneath a full face cage, but they steamed up and got covered with drops of sweat. They sit close to my face which did not help.  

If you want to wear glasses do this: 1: Buy a good quality headband and a chamois. Line the helmet with the chamois, wear the headband. These 2 things will stop the sweat dropping onto your glasses. 2: Use either an anti fog spray (expensive), a earth friendly dishwashing liquid or baby shampoo. Put a drop on each side of your glasses, smear around then very lightly buff off. You will have fog free glasses for about 4 hours of hard skating.

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5 hours ago, Vet88 said:

If you want to wear glasses do this: 1: Buy a good quality headband and a chamois. Line the helmet with the chamois, wear the headband. These 2 things will stop the sweat dropping onto your glasses. 2: Use either an anti fog spray (expensive), a earth friendly dishwashing liquid or baby shampoo. Put a drop on each side of your glasses, smear around then very lightly buff off. You will have fog free glasses for about 4 hours of hard skating.

Thank you. I will try the dishwashing liquid trick on my glasses for public skating, and see how that goes. 

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Pro tip: when you're learning to put in contact lenses, drape a hand towel across your sink. That way when you drop them, they are easier to find and not touching your dirty sink. 

I wear soft contact lenses just for hockey (and rowdy punk shows), and didn't start wearing glasses or contacts until 28. I had consistent problems when I first started wearing them. Like, full adult tantrums. I had to start putting them in 45 minutes before I had to leave, in case I had troubles. But, with practice it got way, way, way easier, and now I have a soft touch and good finishing skills  

We all have different bodies, so consistent practice might not work for everyone. 

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