Diving with hard lenses

[James D]

Hi

Has anyone tried diving with hard lenses - off to Australia next month and wondered if its possible to dive (and how deep) ?

Just tried snorkelling so far but as i can see much at all without lenses worried that I'll struggle.

Thanks
James

[GarethB]

Hi James,

Welcome to the forum. I have just got a pair of swim goggles which give a good seal, but yet to try them with lenses under water.

What we do have is a navel diver with KC so no doubt Matthew will respond with a suggestion of extremely good water tght goggles that will allow you to go diving.

Regards

Gareth

[James D]

Hi Gareth

Thanks for the message. Sounds like it should be feasible then. Just slightly worried about having to clean the goggles a couple of metres down but I guess you just close your eyes.

Anyway will wait for Matthew to see what he says.

Have a great day.
James

[Matthew_]

James,
There is no problem with diving with hard lenses other than the posssibility of loosing them! Even the Royal Navy has recently agreed to allow divers to use lenses (mostly because we were doing it anyway!). For a while it was thought that gas behind the lens might damage the eye but this is largely discredited now.
Gareth is absolutely right, you want to make sure the mask fits well to ensure the lenses are at least retained in the mask in the unlikley event that they fall out. You will probably need to practice flooded face mask drill as a part of your basic training. This can worry people because the sensation of cold water (or not so cold in your case) can make people think they cannot breathe. Of course as long as the mouthpiece is in, you can breathe with or without the mask. But you just need to get used to it, most people don't have a problem. Anyway, you will obviously need to shut your eyes when you ship a load of water into the mask to make sure the lenses stay in place. If your mask fills for any reason, just shut your eyes, hold the top of the mask and blow out through your nose, this will clear the mask instantly. Beyond this, I would keep a little bit of water in the bottom of the mask. Should your mask mist up, just tilt your head forward and let the water swoosh about the visor, this will clear the mist. Sometimes a bit of mask cleaner (tiny bit) smeared on the inside before the dive will keep it nice and clear.
You will find your vision a bit strange because of the magnification effect of the water, this is normal not KC!
Hopefully, you won't need torches but if you do a night dive, tell your buddies to be careful where they point their torches if you are photophobic, which seems likely.
But basically, don't worry about it. You will have to learn the ropes and this will give enough to think about without worrying about your lenses. I would get a spare set if you can or make sure the set you have is insured and then just enjoy the diving!
Matt

[Matthew_]

Sorry, one other thing on fitting the mask. The mask will seal onto your skin very easily, it needs to snug but will seal quite easily. Don't try and pull the straps off when you are tightening them, you will just break them, and then your in for an uncomfortable dive!

[James D]

Hi Matt

Thanks so much for this info - it looks like I should be ok to dive then.

Would you please be able to let me know about suitable makes of goggles (not too expensive if poss).

I went into a dive shop and the guy asked me for details or if poss a phone number for you.

If this is a problem don't worry just the goggles info would be brilliant.

Best wishes
James

[Sweet]

Hey there diving i haven't done though i would love to! i did go water rafting and canyoning with goggles on which was brilliant and caused me no problems even though i jumped 50 foot!

i didn't know that the navy now allow lenses to be worn? i did apply orignally to nurse with them but they wouldn't let me in because of having to wear them.

i was just wondering as well if anyone knows about diving post graft?

Sweet X x X

[Matthew_]

James,
Will PM you my number. Scuba dive masks are not my area of expertise. The Navy uses Kirby Morgan and Aga which are seriously expensive commercial equipment. We do use Apex for some stuff which make good masks at around the £40 mark. Mares also have a good rep as do Scuba Pro, Cressi and Aqua Lung. All of these masks should fit the bill. Another option which is a long shot is the prescription mask. Of course these are the same as glasses so it may not work for KC. But if you can get enough sight from glasses to function, then this could be an option. Prescription lenses are expensive but would save your lenses. Maybe this would be more appropriate if you continue with diving. The nearest source of advice I can think of is Solent Divers in Portsmouth. (023 9281 4924). It 90 minutes from London but worth a visit. Cliff who runs it supplies us with a lot of gear but runs basically a Scuba shop there.
Sweet,
Really not sure about diving post graft as I do not know any other KC divers and I have not had a graft. I think this is a question for your consultant actually. The main issue would be if gas is present in the eye for a while after surgery because this will expand on ascent (I don't even want to think about that!). I think it would be OK after a while but I don't know how long. Definitely a medical question, I wouldn't want somebody to put themsleves in harm's way, please speak to a opthamologist. As for your application as a nurse; I wouldn't be able to get into the Navy today with my eyesight; its just that my eyesight was OK when I joined and then it got worse. Its now for thr Navy to decide what to do with me. I may be discharged but this decision will be made late next year.