Contact lenses and glasses

[gottalovit]

As someone who wears contact lenses most of the time, and glasses occasionally, just wondered how you dealt with this during the season.

I can't imagine wearing glasses during rehearsals, between the heat, and having them fog over, and getting sweat all over them.

On the other hand, I can't imagine wearing contacts all the time either, as with lack of sleep, my contacts become uncomfortable. Also all that sweat running into my face would really dry out my contacts.

So for people who have worn both, which do you prefer during the season, and how do you deal with the drawbacks of either one?

[Phantom&Phitch]

They have contacts that you can sleep in and they don't become uncomfortable. I have them and sometimes i forget to change them on time bc they are so comfortable its like i'm not even wearing any...

[jafar]

yea i have some called night and days, i wear a pair for like 2 months non stop, they rule

[Phantom&Phitch]

yea i have some called night and days, i wear a pair for like 2 months non stop, they rule

same ones i have... you never have to worry about them drying up, or eye gunk, or irritating your eyes.

[BorisTS]

I put in my contacts every morning and took them out every night when I got on the bus. As you said, glasses are a huge annoyance-- they'll get covered in sweat or sunblock or dust. Also, with contacts, I was able to put on a pair of sunglasses if it was bright out or we were facing into the setting sun.

Sweat running into your eyes shouldn't cause serious problems with your contacts, anymore that it would without them.

I tried wearing glasses for one rehearsal block early season my rookie year. Never again.

[SkyRyder_FMM]

My experience was the opposite of the others that posted. I experienced a lot of problems with my contacts. First off, I sweat profusely. I mean, I see a picture of the sun and I break a sweat. The sweat running in my eyes did in fact irritate me far more when I was wearing contacts, than when I was not. I also had a contact tear in the middle of second tour in 1986. It's not easy to deal with. I suppose if you have the disposable type now and replacements handy this would not be an issue.

Personally, I found a few benefits to wearing glasses. When it was windy (especially on dusty fields), the glasses kept most of the dirt out of my eyes. I would also put a small piece of paper under the nose pads to cover my nose and keep it from getting sun burned. That was MUCH better than sun screen on the nose that would just run down into my mouth from all the sweat anyway. It was also a lot easier to clean glasses when they were dirty than contacts.

[boilerman_05]

I only had one problem with contacts my 4 years of marching and it was my fault. I took them out after a full rehersal day without washing my hands and ended up with pink eye. I couldn't wear my contacts for a couple of days and I don't own glasses (not smart, I know, but my insurance covers "either/or"). Since I'm nearly blind as a bat, it made those couple of days of rehersal very scary. First time I did our drum solo drill, I about died. I'm glad it was near the end of the season and we all had serious muscle memory going on.

Edited July 20, 2006 by boilerman_05

[dc oldtimer]

This reminds me of a nightmare on the field back in my days.

I wore glasses (contacts were just a novelty back then) and had the problem of the glasses slipping down my nose because of the sweat. I bought some sport straps and that solved that problem. In ‘77 there was a flag toss over the horns and I was a sop... ur.... trumpet... whatever.... Well, one windy day the guard member in front of me didn't heave hit hard enough and it smacked me right in the forehead knocking my glasses off. I tried to look down and find them but the drill wouldn't let me stand there too long. This was during the "tick" days and we got reamed if we were pinpointed as being ticked on the judges sheet.

Now, I am blind without my glasses and I could not see a #### thing. It was TOUGH marching when you can't see. As we were marching off the field one of our staff was holding up my glasses. Apparently one of the judges picked them up during the show. THANK GOD!

I now have disposables. When I am on the golf course for long periods of time I make sure I take them out at night. Ya, it's kind of a pain to deal with every night but its better then losing your glasses during a performance. Also, (of course, this comes from the 70's) wear a headband to prevent the sweat from rolling into your eyes during practices. If it happens during a show, well, my only suggestion is to suck it up for 12 minutes and keep a bottle of saline solution tucked away so you can use it as you're marching off.

Not having 20/20 sucks!!!!

Edited July 20, 2006 by dc oldtimer

[WordRider]

Contact Lenses and glasses at Camp Randall Stadium? Look out! - Imagine this Sumo Smiley with contacts approaching missing section of stadium.

drumhumorousTerrance

Edited July 21, 2006 by Terrance I.McGee

[kuskyguardd]

I usually wore contacts, but between eye allergies and pinkeye, I ended up in my glasses for a good part of the summer. Unfortunately, I was in the guard and we didn't have a choice about wearing contacts for the show. Sometimes, I'd have the contact out of my bad eye and in a trash can before we even made it back to the bus.