Contact Lenses question

I wear glasses to watch TV, drive and shoot.  To read easily, particularly in low light i have a different pair of glasses. So in-effect I cannot read with my  distance glasses on.
 
My plain 'distances' glasses are OK but in certain conditions ie bright light a tint may be better.  For skiing I have tried the insert option for inside ski goggles but found the rim of the lens insert distracting.
 
The end game is to have a pair of shooting glasses with safety lenses and tinted.
 

The options I see are, getting another pair of glasess this time prescription sport glasses (with a tint) or, trying contact lenses and getting multi-tint shooting glass.  Neither prescription is cheap and I have a question relating to contacts.
 
How do contact lenses deal with the ability to read as well as distance vision?  I would not want my distance vision affected or i'll miss more clays than I am doing now!  Is there something specific that I need to request at the optician?
 
 
 

I went down the route of getting prescription shooting glasses - I bought a set of glasses that I can change the colour of the lenses, and it has an insert for prescription lenses. I think all in all I was looking around about 70-80 quid. £49 was for polycarb prescription lenses. Bryn12 went the whole hog and bought two sets of proper shooting glasses, one with a pink tint, the other yellow, and he seems to get on with them,

I have shot with contact lenses and basic safety glasses (with changeable tints) and, in all honesty, I prefer that to my fancy specs - the frames can be a little distracting. The thing with my contacts is that I need half an hour to get used to them because they change your sense of perspective quite markedly. If you did go down that route, give yourself plenty of time between putting them in and shooting. I do so before I even get in the car to drive to the range.

I'm incredibly short sighted so my prescription takes care of both reading and distance - specify what you wish to use the contacts for and the optician should be able to accommodate this.

I wear contacts all the time as I dislike wearing glasses but just recently I've been struggling with some targets so thought I'd get my lamps checked out with the view to maybe getting dedicated shooting glasses. Following a very thorough eye exam it was found that my prescription had changed slightly but was also informed that for the best sight correction as far as shooting is concerned glasses were the better option as contacts can become unstable through blinking and also the constant eye movement used to pick up and track clays. I also suffer in windy conditions where the lenses can become dry as the wind blows across your face causing blurred vision. That said I love my contacts but am still thinking of going down the glasses route. Also consider the cost of lenses if your only going to wear them for shooting. A pair of zeiss shooting glasses around my way will all in cost around £200 - 250 where my lenses inc. solutions cost £45 every 3 months (monthly wear lenses), daily lenses can also be bought but are usually the more expensive option if you are going to be a regular wearer.

I'm sure Ed Lyons will be along shortly with some sage words :superblue:  

He's the boy for the job.  

Failing that, PM him. 

Mr Lyons will be your man for this, but for my 2 penny worth.

I wear contact lenses all the time as dont like glasses and never have.

In my normal working/socializing life I use the mono vision, left eye does close up, right eye does distance, have just this for a few years now an no issues.

I then took up shooting and was informed I was left eye dominant and shoot right handed, hence distance lens in left eye.

Chat with optician &  I now use a distance lens in my right eye for shooting only and dont feel it loses me any clays.

As for dryness of eyes, it only effects me in the sun and I bought a spray from Tescy for about £5.00 that you spray on closed eye lids that definitely helps.

I have started to wear contact lenses for shooting and have found them to be the best option for me. I tried pais of glasses with the prescription inserts but found them to be very distracting. The option of glasses with prescription lenses also seemed expensive if you're prescription changed. I pay £22.00 for 30 pairs of daily disposable contacts. I only wear them on a Sunday for shooting therefore they last me 30 weeks, bargain! I do not suffer with the wind in my eyes as my Oakley glasses fit well to my face. I find the clarity of targets really good , can't blame missing them on not being able to see them! I usually put them in before we leave home and remove them on our return. After approx 8/9 hours they do tend to dry a little.

Has anyone considered laser surgery. I know that Opticians are generally against it, but, I had both eyes done between 1996 and 97 and have never looked back (sorry). I wore specs for all distance work prior to the ops and I now need reading glasses, but I can live with that. I have annual eye tests and the Optician tells me that there is 'no change' and my reading glasses are still the same. My left eye is not perfect, but I am right handed and master eyed so again, no probs. I have been told all of the 'horror stories' about this type of surgery, but have yet to meet anyone who has suffered problems as a result. As far as I am aware, all of my 'bits' are still  there and nothing has so far, dropped off. My Optician will not admit to seeing anyone with problems, after laser, but she says she has read of a lot of issues. (a bit like all of the dead wildfowl due to ingested lead shot). I would be interested to hear of any problems people have experienced with laser surgery, but it does allow a greater freedom when choosing shooting glasses.

westley said:

Has anyone considered laser surgery. I know that Opticians are generally against it, but, I had both eyes done between 1996 and 97 and have never looked back (sorry). I wore specs for all distance work prior to the ops and I now need reading glasses, but I can live with that. I have annual eye tests and the Optician tells me that there is 'no change' and my reading glasses are still the same. My left eye is not perfect, but I am right handed and master eyed so again, no probs. I have been told all of the 'horror stories' about this type of surgery, but have yet to meet anyone who has suffered problems as a result. As far as I am aware, all of my 'bits' are still there and nothing has so far, dropped off. My Optician will not admit to seeing anyone with problems, after laser, but she says she has read of a lot of issues. (a bit like all of the dead wildfowl due to ingested lead shot). I would be interested to hear of any problems people have experienced with laser surgery, but it does allow a greater freedom when choosing shooting glasses.

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Have considered laser surgery but I know (actually know not heard of .) 2 people who have had the treatment and both still wear glasses. One had very bad eyesight and although it was greatly improved by the procedure he still needed corrective lenses and the other was without the need for glasses for about 4-5 years but is now having to wear them again. Not saying this is true to everybody but knowing my luck.......

FD,

Point taken, this is the first 'personal experience' of connected problems that I have encountered. I personally used Optimax in Manchester, just after they opened there. I can recall that there was no 'hard sell', in fact quite the opposite, they went to great lengths to spell out the possible pitfalls. When I had my eyes done, surgery was in it's infancy and I presume it is far safer and much improved today. You may consider going for a consultation where I feel certain any possible problems could be discussed. I have shot a practice 100 birder sporter, with some friends, today. It was light drizzle and upon entering the clubhouse my shooting glasses instantly steamed up, I was simply able to remove them, problem over. Two of my companions were not so lucky, they just went 'blind'. They had to remove their specs and clean them. Been there, done that etc.  

Hi Fraser!

You can have "multifocal" contact lenses that give you the capacity to see both at distance and near, and this system is also available now via a form of refractive surgery too.

My personal preference and recommendation is to have distance only lens for shooting, then a separate product for any reading/marking the card etc. If you have an aspect of the lens that helps you read, sometimes this can mean you end up seeing the end of the gun in sharp focus, not the target.

I have found myself, or rather Ed Solomons, has found me guilty of gun watching at the moment, which is something i am actively looking to fix.

Another issue with multifocal contacts is they work due to changes in pupil size, and are therefore sunlight-dependant, i.e., you may find your distance vision fluctuates throughout the day which may be to an unnoticeable level when doing "normal" tasks but when trying to decide if that is a standard or a midi now the FITASC menu has gone away, it may cause problems!

So, i would advocate best distance lenses, maybe daily disposables if your script allows OR…..Ortho K lenses.

These are a "bridge" between normal contacts and laser - they are worn at night and reshape your cornea so you can see clearly in the distance when you wake up and remove them…a pretty useful option IF you're suitable!  k:

Oh, and laser IS much better than it used to be, I see FAR fewer people with post operative problems than i did say ten years ago, and the majority have a fantastic procedure. I'm pretty short-sighted, but my vision in my contacts is perfect, which is why i haven't gone in for surgery yet.

Once i stop seeing anyone with issues and/or my lenses cease to be a perfect solution for me, i may well go and have it done myself!

Ed.

My original reason for laser surgery was due to my past occupation. My job paid for my specs., but due to things getting violent at times, I was always concerned about damage to my eyes from the specs. A GP friend suggested the laser and the rest is history, although the spin off was of benefit to my shooting. My left eye, I am told could be re done to get it perfect, but it seems alright as it is. If it aint broken etc. etc. 

As Mrs Bryn said I got a pair of distance safety glasses made, whilst they are OK as a stop-gap they do restrict my peripheral vision which may be a big part of why I struggle with H2, and possibly has an effect on H3, oddly enough L5&6 aren't affected the same way. A visit to Mr Lyons is definitely on the cards at sometime in the next 12-18 months. I find the purple (vermillion?) lens the most useful.

In an ideal world a sort of wrap-around prescription pair of glasses would be my choice, if such things exist.

Used to wear contacts all day long every day, literally from morning to night, but was told they were damaging my eyes, so now I mainly wear glasses but still use contacts for all sporting activities including shooting.

My main glasses are varifocals. I am short sighted and also have a slight stigmatism in my right eye. The contacts I use are "Focus Dailies" with a Toric lens being used in my right eye to help correct the stigmatism. I personally find those extremely comfortable and easy to use. Of course the contacts are set for distance vision which means I couldn't read a menu if I was dying of hunger, but a very cheap pair of reading glasses from Boots is all that is required for any such close vision.

In fact they are so cheap I have pairs of those glasses to hand in every shooting bag, golf bag, car, office desk, etc etc, should I have a need.

As for costs, I get 3 months supply of daily contacts for approx 95 quid, but of course that is based upon 90 days worth of lenses, but as I am only using them for sport I only use an average of three pairs per week, so that 3 months cost actually gives me closer to 7 months of cover. Thats only approx £3 per week ! 

Have not even considered surgery as, being Diabetic, my vision could be subject to sudden change anyway. Right now I am really happy with the regime I have, and I can tell you that Guerini Girl does exactly the same as me and is also very happy with it !

Hope it helps ?  

I wear contacts for shooting , dailies , I find them fine   they give you choice of  shooting glasses  tints etc  . I think they are as good as prescription glasses . I always seem to see the clays I miss  clear enough .

Im waiting for the call the the 'test' set of contacts are ready.  Hopefully they should be here this week.  I was advised I had an astigmatism so they were not an off the shelf set.  I'll let you know how i get on.

Thanks for all the advice.

This first set of contacts have turned up.

Although the vision straight ahead is great any eye movement gives a blurring for a short time.  Despite persevering for several days there was no improvement.  The optician gave no reason for this and have suggested I try a set from another manufacturer.

Any ideas what may cause this?

It's certainly of no use when shooting.

A cl specialist should be able to answer that, but I was under the impression that the lenses should "stick" in place so when you move the eye, the lens moves with it. If you're getting a temporary blur it may mean the lens is not moving in sync and the blur occurs while the lens re-seats in the right position. A better fitting lens would, I presume, fix that.
I wear contacts, have done for more than 20 years, for the reverse of that reason. My prescription is very different from one eye to the other, and when wearing glasses if I don't look through the centre of the lens it all blurs and after a while I get dizzy and nauseous. In essence I have to move my head to look even a few degrees off-centre.

as I've said I wear daily disposables for shooting , I tried the laser surgery path but was told  I would not achieve 20/20 vision in my right eye , or they could not guarantee 20/20 vision , they offered me intronocular lenses  and guaranteed  near perfect distance vision  , alas too expensive for me  hence the contact lenses .   

BTC3 said:

A cl specialist should be able to answer that, but I was under the impression that the lenses should "stick" in place so when you move the eye, the lens moves with it. If you're getting a temporary blur it may mean the lens is not moving in sync and the blur occurs while the lens re-seats in the right position. A better fitting lens would, I presume, fix that. I wear contacts, have done for more than 20 years, for the reverse of that reason. My prescription is very different from one eye to the other, and when wearing glasses if I don't look through the centre of the lens it all blurs and after a while I get dizzy and nauseous. In essence I have to move my head to look even a few degrees off-centre.

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The dizzy effect was what I was experiencing with the CL.  THere did not seem to be a definitive answer as to the cause though,, just a  case of try another..