Hi! I'm 45 with bifocal Rx eyeglasses and a BJJ newbie! When I train, of course, I have to take off my glasses and put it back on when instructions is given and a demo is shown. It gives me a headache too not wearing glasses after a while. Is it safe to wear contacts when doing BJJ?
Are you short sighted or long sighted? Personally I don't bother with contacts as I find them uncomfortable to wear, bjj is one of those sports you could probably do blind anyway. I pop my glasses on when I need to watch a demo, and I remember to take them off when rolling. Have you asked your optometrist about he/she thinks? I will see if I can ask my dad tonight what he would suggest (he's been an optometrist for over 30 years).
I wear contacts for everything, and my eyesight is -5.75 I recommend getting biweekly contacts as they don't feel uncomfortable at all, as opposed to daily a that dry out.
Contact lenses are perfectly safe for grappling, but make sure you get soft lenses. I'm -17 and I have no problem wearing my lenses for training. Also be very strict with your hygiene. Wash your hands after training before taking your lenses out and make sure you clean the lenses well after each session.
I just started wearing them last week and so far it's fine. As Frodo said you need to be a bit mental when it comes to hygiene but that's pretty much it. I do know someone who's lose a lenses while training but he just took a break to take the other out and that was that. My opticians point was you'll lose them if you get poked in the eye, but if you aren't wearing lenses there's a chance that'd scratch them anyway
I've worn soft disposable contacts for BJJ, Thai, Karate, TKD and everything else. They are invaluable for watching instructions (and knowing when someone across the room is looking at you!) but I'd say BJJ is one art where instruction is generally done in the round (meaning you can get a close look rather than watching someone 20 foot away at the front like in a trad class) and the sparring is very close so they are needed less. I have had them poked out and punched out (boxing gloves seem perfect for sucking them out of your eyes) but as they were disposable they were coming out at the end of the class anyway so just ditched the other one and got on with things. If you wear them just remember to also take your glasses so you can drive home if one gets lost during training. That said...the best I ever did at a TKD competition was when I forgot my lenses and had to fight with bad vision. These days I go with just my specs at the side and put them on if I need to. Saves money on lenses that I only used rarely anyway.
I spoke with my dad, optometrist of 30 years. He reckons soft daily lenses are the best way to go if you're only wearing them for training, that's often what he prescribed to wrestlers. Extended wear contact lenses may feel more comfortable because they become a bit slimy with wear. But they can also become breeding grounds for germs if not properly looked after.
I asked my dad about biweekly contacts. The look on his face was priceless, he said he had never heard of them before. Are biweekly contacts the same as extended wear contacts (2 week life)? Could be that they have a different name in New Zealand.
I use daily disposables and keep a bottle of solution and a spare set in my kit. Occasionally a good hit will make one fly out but I have never lost one grappling and I suspect it is the draught effect from my crumpling headguard that blasts the lens out. I can't see diddly squat without my glasses so it would be difficult otherwise, but if you have some vision without lenses then you have to weigh up the advantage vs cost. Convenience wise they are fine once you get past the "ick" factor of touching your eyes.
Yeah, it might just be me that calls them that. They're awesome! Frodo: is your eyesight really -17?!
Yep! I'm special! Even when I worked in eye research the clinicians were impressed by my prescription!
I hope this isn't rude to ask, but does that make you legally blind? That's over twice my prescription and I can barely see more than a couple metres in front me
I'm bi-focal, so I am both short and far sighted (I think). This happens to old people like me. Haha! Thank you for asking your Dad! I have an eye exam appointment today and I would certainly ask. I think I will get trial lenses, so I will see how it goes. Thanks everyone!
Nope, because my prescription can be almost fully corrected by glasses/contacts. It does mean I'm much more susceptible to eye problems such as detached retinas - hence my current ban from lifting and BJJ because of floaters. It's one of the reasons I've given up striking styles and am reconsidering going back to judo. Once you're prescription goes beyond -6 you are considered in the high risk group for problems.
Make sure that if anything in your vision changes you get it checked out immediately. Detached retinas can be caused by blows to the head, and the more extreme your prescription, the more likely this is to happen.
I'm in it now apparently. But this does explain why the army knocked their limit back to -6.00 instead of -7.00 like it used to be.
I wear monthly continuous wear ones and when I roll I have a bottle of fluid in my kit bag. The problems with daily disposables is they're so thin that they're a pain to get in and out, so if you're not wearing them all the time you don't get the practice at putting them in. Monthlies are so thick they're really easy to put in.
Is there really such a difference? I've tried one-month and 2-week and daily disposable contacts and don't remember any difference in them at all. Maybe just small differences of each brand. But that can perhaps be because I only wear -1,75/-1,25. I find the daily lenses best because the dirt and other uncomfortable stuff doesn't accumulate on them as much as on the one-month lenses - they were becoming more and more irritating (poor hygiene, I guess? But I really tried!). After I played voleyball outside with new ones, I was ready to throw them away. Then, afterall I attempted to clean them thoroughly, I tore one and had to throw them away anyway. During my almost two years of training karate, the lenses have already been punched or slapped out of my eye three times - and I do not were them very often. Another reason I prefer the daily ones, though it's probably different for BJJ...
