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Problems riding with contact lenses?
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I wear contact lenses. I am nearsighted with -4.00 vision and mild astigmatism (x170L/x180R). I find that sometimes, especially when riding low in the drops or in aero, my contacts seem to move/twist in my eyes or something and my vision becomes a little burry (sometimes in one eye, sometimes both). It can be a bit nerve-racking, especially if roads are suboptimal as it becomes a bit tricky to see small potholes and cracks. Usually if I come out of aero and sort of dart my eyes around (or stop and rub my eyes a bit), the problem is fixed, but that's not always possible and it majorly sucks in races. (Remember when we used to race?! sigh....)

1) Is this normal?
2) Is there anything I can do about it, such as try a different brand of contacts or something?

As crazy as it sounds, I'm contemplating getting lasik as a result of this. I know serious complications of lasik are pretty rare (likely safer than road biking on open roads with blurry vision), but stories of lifelong dry eye, etc. kind of scare me.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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I had that happen, I use a toric contact lens (Alcon dailies) now and hasn’t happened in years.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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The only issues I have with my contacts is they get dry on long rides. Wearing eye protection helps greatly, but after a few hours they start drying out. The only solution I know is ride with prescription glasses.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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I have very similar vision to you and have found that the only times I have issues with my toric lenses are if I rub my eyes too hard
I use biofinity.
Checking for the fit of the lens is something you could do with your optometrist
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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I've had contacts actually come out before while riding.

1.) sorta yeah.
2.) Best bet is to tell your eye doc whats up and tell them you'd like to try some different lenses. I went through about 4 different ones before landing on ones that don't give me any trouble.

My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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I've been fortunate as I've never had issues with contacts other than using some drops during long rides. This includes times where I take my sunglasses off and my eyes are exposed to the wind. Currently I'm wearing Acuvue TruEye dailies but have used different brands over the years.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [Ken] [ In reply to ]
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As long as I wear eye protection ( including clear lenses on non sunny days or early morning dark rides) I have no problems with my contacts. I carry a bottle eye drops in case I dry out. I also do this when I ride mountain bikes and run with great results.

Cheers, Ray
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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I wear astigmatism contact lenses and my eyes are worse than yours. I've been riding for 13 years, with barely any issues. The trick is a good pair of sunglasses. Some glasses will let the air curl around the lenses and hit your eyeball; other glasses will shoot the air around your head a lot better. See if you can experiment with different sunglasses and discover ones that work for you.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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Do you wear any kind of sunglasses/protective lenses? It's a good idea to, contacts or no - you never know when a fly is going to wind up in just the wrong spot, or perhaps a piece of gravel. In the past I've had pairs with interchangeable lenses, including ones with no shading at all. If you haven't tried that yet, I'd try that first. And if you haven't gotten yourself cycling sunglasses before, make sure that you've got full peripheral vision.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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I am -5.5/-6.0. The only time I ever experienced anything like that was in the months after I recovered from surgery for a detached retina. Lasted a few months.

Are your eyes normally dry?
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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wintershade wrote:
I wear contact lenses. I am nearsighted with -4.00 vision and mild astigmatism (x170L/x180R). I find that sometimes, especially when riding low in the drops or in aero, my contacts seem to move/twist in my eyes or something and my vision becomes a little burry (sometimes in one eye, sometimes both). It can be a bit nerve-racking, especially if roads are suboptimal as it becomes a bit tricky to see small potholes and cracks. Usually if I come out of aero and sort of dart my eyes around (or stop and rub my eyes a bit), the problem is fixed, but that's not always possible and it majorly sucks in races. (Remember when we used to race?! sigh....)

1) Is this normal?
2) Is there anything I can do about it, such as try a different brand of contacts or something?

As crazy as it sounds, I'm contemplating getting lasik as a result of this. I know serious complications of lasik are pretty rare (likely safer than road biking on open roads with blurry vision), but stories of lifelong dry eye, etc. kind of scare me.

That is sadly cery normal, i have even tried thst they popped out. In aerobars you forget to blini drying out the eye fast in the wind causing it. You need to remember to blink!
Also wearing sunglasses helps alot! Get some where you can just have no shaded glass in or have two pairs. So you have a normal pair for sun out and another with clear lenses for less sunny weather.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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I had exactly the same. But my lenses popped out after a while. Consulted with my optician and got lenses with a slightly larger diameter. Haven’t had a problem since.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [Swutch] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks everyone.

Yes, I always wear sunglasses / eye protection. I have 3 different pair of Oakley Flight Jackets in different tints for different conditions. (The are awesome by the way. The Cycling specific frame is at the bottom leaving the top frameless which makes it easier to look up/down the road.)

I’m due for an eye checkup so will ask about a larger lens to see if it stays put a little better.

But yes, I think it could be some combination of my eyes drying out, the dry lens shrink a bit and get stuck in the wrong position, and then I’m one pothole away from being roadkill.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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Another thing that helped me out was switching to "daily" contacts. See if you can get some trials- but a warning- they will spoil you from ever wanting to wear anything else.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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Never had any issues with my contacts. My helmet has a shield when I'm on my TT bike and that works better than the sunglasses I wear on my road bike.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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I posted my own running with contact lens story a couple of weeks ago

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...ost=7283783#p7283783

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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I was a life long glasses and contacts person, and LASIK is one of the best things I've ever done. Even before I got into triathlon, I was doing a lot of water sports and racing cars, both of which are extremely annoying with glasses or contacts. LASIK is a huge quality of life improvement - can't recommend it enough.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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Go the lasik route! I’m 42 and had it done 1 year ago. Dry eye lasted noticeably for 6 months, and ever since it hasn’t been a problem. I No longer use drops. Though I do still get dry eye occasionally, but not like I would with contacts. Lasik has me freaked out, but ever since doing it I recommend it to anyone who’s a candidate. Significant astigmatisms may be problematic though.
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Re: Problems riding with contact lenses? [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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Of course it's normal... it's physics right?
The thinner they are... along with the most direct air flow without blinking.. the faster they dry out and fly away.
I used to regularly lose at least one in every race.. tried various brands until I found the most reliable.
Can't use any of the dailies... without the vulnerability of flying away... lol.
But, the weekly Accuvues work great for me.. I take them out every night for cleaning and get a month of use out of them.
Different eyes means what works for me might not work for you... you'll need to experiment.
I would never consider corrective surgery on my eyes..not unless they told me that I would lose my eyesight if I didn't have it done.
I enjoy process of using contacts... been using them for 40 years. Now, if surgery existed and was without issues when I was putting hard glass in my eye at 19 years old.. without question..I would have chosen surgery. Like technology in general... contacts have come a long way from the early days.
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