‘Tis the season for travel, but here’s some insightful information for jet-setting contact wearers.
When packing for a summer trip, you may be tempted to leave your eyeglasses at home and just wear contact lenses on the plane.
Before you whip out your boarding pass, though, you may want to reconsider swapping for your specs — lest you end up with some pretty painful side effects.
Contacts aren’t always off limits — it really depends on a few key factors.
Dr. Priya M. Mathews, the Director of Cornea and Ocular Surface Disease at the Center for Sight, says a short hop — say, from New York to Florida — should be fine for keeping those contacts in.
“If your eyes are healthy, the flight is short to moderate in length, and you do not plan to sleep during the flight, it is generally OK to wear contact lenses,” Mathews, a cataract, LASIK and corneal surgeon, told The Post.
But there are situations when those glasses could be a sight for sore eyes — literally.
For one, on long flights — like that summer trip to Europe. That’s because the air circulating in the cabin is super dry, so the longer you’re exposed to it, the more dried-out your eyes — and contacts — can become.
“Some contact lens wearers notice that their eyes feel uncomfortable, gritty, or sensitive on airplanes,” Mathews explained. “Many are surprised to learn that these symptoms are often related to dry eye worsening in the cabin environment, leading to discomfort, redness, irritation or pain,” she added.
The cabin is also pressurized for the high altitude, which reduces oxygen intake for your eyes. Combined with dryness, a whole host of gruesome problems can arise.
In some worst-case scenarios, your contacts could suction to your eyeball or you might experience micro-tearing on the eyes’ surface. Those scratches — plus tight quarters with other travelers — can leave you at higher risk of infection.
Besides causing pain and discomfort, these issues could become severe enough to lead to temporary (or even, in rare cases, permanent) vision loss.
Dr. Arjan Hura, a board-certified cataract and anterior segment surgeon at the Maloney-Shamie-Hura Vision Institute in Los Angeles, also warns against sleeping with contacts in because it can “significantly increase the risk of an eye infection.”
Of course, Hura added, you should always opt for glasses if your eyes are already red, irritated or light sensitive, or if you have a pre-existing infection.
What should you do if you are wearing contacts?
If you’re already wearing them and notice some dryness, practicing good hygiene by washing your hands can help alleviate symptoms.
“In addition to washing hands… making sure there is appropriate contact lens solution available, replacing the solution every time, using proper contact lens cases and avoiding washing the contacts with tap water can all help prevent infection,” Hura said.
He also recommends using artificial tears, replacing the lenses with new ones or taking a temporary break.
And if you’re wearing dailies while traveling for more than 24 hours or across multiple flights, stick to the same replacement schedule when you’re not traveling.
If good hygiene can’t be maintained onboard, Hura suggests sticking to glasses. Both he and Mathews recommend packing a backup pair in case something happens to the lenses, case or contact solution.
And speaking of solution, no need to transfer it to a TSA-compliant container.
“Contact lens solution comes in travel-sized variants, so the solution shouldn’t be transferred to a different container for ease of use, where it could get contaminated,” Hura stressed.
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