Contact Lens - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

How do you deal w/ contacts on backpacking trips? I figure alcohol based hand sanitizers would not be good to use and them touch your eyes w/ your hands. Is putting in contacts w/ out a mirror a mandatory skill?

RadB

#2

I know this sidesteps your question…but I just got the Lasik Surgery done to avoid your problem this summer on the trail…Contacts are a pain and the chances of infection are good…Glasses were the way I went when I did one week hikes …

Trampas

#3

your just asking for trouble with contacts. wear glasses. unless you dont have ears.

bill phillip

#4

i’ll probably order glasses as well. i’ve been backpacking with contacts for several years now and have been okay, using drops every morning and nite. i get as much grime off my hands as possible and clean my contacts every couple of days. i have one of those suunto global compasses w/ tilting mirror. keeping up with a supply -could- be a hassle but i didnt have much trouble on long trips (longest=1 month backpacking Costa Rica). glasses should always be backup, i just find them annoying to wear. IMO.

brock

#5

I’m thinking about the “night and day” contacts - I think Scholar recommended them. You put them in, then take them out a week later, throw them out. No mess, no solution, you sleep in them.

This is nice for when the bears start banging your pots around in the middle of the night, you wake up and you’re not blind. :slight_smile:

nunyet

#6

We used contact lenses on the trail for 3 months. They were not disposable, because I have toric lenses, but I would have gone that route if possible.

We washed our hands with soap and rinsed with treated water. Rinse well my friend! You either need to carry a mirror or be able to put them in without it. I need a mirror, so I just had my wife put mine in for me. Now that’s love on a 0 degree morning and she had to wash her hands. COLD! We carried glasses as well, because we needed breaks from the contact lenses in town. We took them out occassionally on trail, but not every night.

We did get Lasik recently for many reason, but this being one.

Gravity

Gravity

#7

I wear contacts and I wore mine the whole way through the AT. Every night, I took them out, and put them in the case. At night it’s not so much of a concern to get your hands clean (the solution is sterilizing), it’s in the morning that you want to rub off as much dirt as possible.

I found I got more stuff under my lens than usual. But, a simple rub and a little solution fixes that. In fact, (don’t tell me eye doc) I only used two sets of contacts the whole time (instead of 6). Just take care of them.

Glasses are a nightmare in cold weather and hot humid days. Always fogging up, need a scraper in the morning, etc… hehehe. I know a couple of people, aside myself, that used contacts on the trail no problems.

Dave and Miranda

#8

I agree that glasses are a major pain. They can drive a hiker batty on those hot and humid days.

I know many hikers who took their contacts out every night (after sanitizing their fingers, of course). Personally, I used the night & day ones, and only took them out about once a week in town. This worked fine for me. I wouldn’t hike any other way (except with the possibility of lasik).

TANK

#9

I hate having glasses on my face! I carry my glasses just in case but contacts make everything more enjoyable. I usually give my fingers a touch of purell and then wash off the stuff that that leaves behind.

Prospector

#10

I specifically ordered a 6 month supply of day & night contacts for my AT thru-hike. I tested them out last month and i loved them. I could wear them an entire Month without taking them out at all, just a few drops once in while. talk to your Optometrist and try them out. I might even start wearing them all the time

Ross

#11

I agree with Dave and Miranda; take’em out every night and put’em on in the morning (I use the Acuvue throwaway after 2 weeks type). Like a lot of other things, it’s not that much different than home once you get used to it. I’ve gone as long as two weeks between “town facilites” this way with no problem, I just use common sense and clean my hands. A 4 oz bottle of solution will last at least this long if you’re careful. My contacts are so superior to my glasses in almost every way that I would not consider anything else.

RockyTrail

#12

Nope, prospector, im not nuts, and have worn contacts for as long as 18 months. They do not “fuse” to your eyes. You just have to keep them wet, either with your natural tears, or sterile saline from a bottle. You are either telling a tall tale about your friend, or else she didnt follow my absolute rule about taking them out at the first sign of irritation. She probably was one of those people who take em out, spit on em, and put em back in. The resulting infection would be what caused all her problems. The main point of my post was not to encourage others to keep them in for the entire thru hike, but just to point out that with reasonable care, contacts can be worn without any problems at least from townstop to townstop, and are much nicer to wear while hiking than glasses.

Cutman11

#13

I have worn contacts for almost 20 years. The one thing my eye doctor always preaches is that the eyes need oxygen. That’s why it’s important to take the lenses out. The eyes need to breathe. I have NEVER heard of a lens which is capable of letting enough oxygen through to the eyes for 18 months of continuous wear.

Perhaps Cutman has special eyes which don’t need as much oxygen as other people do. But to make a blanket statement such as the one Cutman made – “I am a surgeon and wear contacts without removing them from my eyes for up to 1yr” is a bit irresponsible. It implies that a surgeon has stated that contacts can be safely worn continuously for one year. I understand that Cutman did not state that what works for him will work for everyone. However, the implication was made that wearing contacts nonstop for a year is not harmful.

From my little corner of the world, where I am simply a person who wears contacts and listens to her eye doctor, I’ve been told that continuous contact wearing is not healthy for the eyes.

Just my two cents.

yogi

www.pcthandbook.com

yogi

#14

I got the night and day contacts that you can wear overnight… for up to a month. If I am in a town, have taken a shower, have clean hands, then I take them out. You just have to be smart. I never had any problems.

windex