Wearing contacts when surfing. pterygium?

Question

i went to the doctor and found out i have a pterygium, nothing bad , its pretty small but i was just wondering if it is possible to wear uv contact lenses when surfing, concidering i spend over 20 hours a week in the water. i don't know anything about contacts or how to use them. but if anyone deose and or has a pterygium any advise would be helpfull. thanks.

Answer 1

That's going to depend on your individual eyes and the pterygium, but in principle you shouild be looking for one-use (daily disposable) lenses  to be thrown away as soon as you leave the water, so avoiding contamination risks.

Most soft lenses will be large enough that the edge of the contact will not butt against the tip of the pterygium but overlap it, avoiding irritation.  You may need larger than average lenses: that would be down for the fitting practitioner to decide.

Optometrist, retired.

Answer 2

no , pterygium will make contacts poorly fitted , as I understand you want to wear them to protect ur eyes from UV rays , I'd recommend the googles that people wear during surfing they are very effective for that matter .

also sea water contain acanthamoeba which is the nightmare of contact lens wearers .

good luck .

Answer 3

a pterygium will make it harder to fit contacts, and wearing contacts in the water probably wouldn't be very comfortable. water actually dries out contacts, so if they get wet, you're not going to be able to see.  you could always ask your optometrist if there are contacts you can wear that would work for surfing. sports optometry is a big industry.