Contact Lenses for Sport

Sportsmen and women who have poor eyesight, whether long or short-sighted, can get a competitive advantage by choosing contact lenses rather than eyeglasses to correct their vision.

Contact lenses for sport enable the wearer to see more in terms of width of vision (your frames don't get in the way when you look left or right) and also allow the wearer to react far more quickly as there is far less distortion of vision.

I started wearing contact lenses while at university, initially as I couldn't read the blackboard even when sitting at the front of the lecture theatre! But as soon as I started to wear contacts, I was truly amazed at the difference it made to my main sport which was field hockey back then. I could see the ball so much better!

Performance Contact Lenses for Sport

Performance contact lenses

Thirty years on and contact lens technology has changed so fast that there are now performance contact lenses available and specialist opticians who are sports vision experts; in other words they can advise on the best types of contact lenses for your particular sport.

Tinted lenses are better for some people and while soft contacts are the most comfortable, some sports people are actually better off with rigid gas permeable lenses, especially if they are looking for sharper vision or if they suffer from acute astigmatism.

Sport Contact Lenses

Some people only wear contact lenses when they play sport, choosing to wear eyeglasses during the day. They choose contacts for reasons of comfort and practicality as mentioned above and most often pick soft daily disposable contact lenses for occasional ie. sports use.

Sports that benefit most from contact lenses include cycling, running, racquet sports and high contact sports like rugby...

And not only do contacts offer sweat and mist-free vision, when they are tinted, they can make balls and objects much sharper and clearer, thereby enhancing performance.

One of the best brands for sports contacts is Acuvue from Johnson and Johnson. ALL Acuvue contact lenses have a UV filter to help protect the eyes from sun when playing sport outdoors, and most of their soft contact lenses are slightly tinted, helping clarity of vision.

When I wear my usual comfortable contacts, Acuvue Moist daily disposables when doing sports like cycling and even water-skiing, I always carry a spare disposable lens with me, just in case I get grit in my eye on the bike or I lose a lens when falling in the water! These lenses are especially good for water-skiing, when any salty deposits from the ocean can be removed by simply throwing away the daily lens at the end of the day.

So if you're looking for the most comfortable contact lenses for sport, consider my personal favorite, Acuvue Moist soft daily disposable contact lenses for unobstructed vision and improved performance.

Of course, for a variety of reasons, soft contacts may not be the perfect sports vision solution, in which case, you may need gas permeable lenses, custom-made tinted lenses or perhaps, prescription eyeglasses. The related articles below offer further advice.

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