blind as a bat

[cjm_wales]

it was absolutely firing in porthcawl today (rest bay), wonderful peaks and no wind - but i had to call time because i simply couldn't see a sodding thing. it wasn't even particularly bright.

i totally ruined the ride of several fellow surfers by not being able to see them..... not happy with being a liability i did the decent thing and cleared out.

the main problems kick off when i catch whitewater in the face. closing my eyes does little to help, during the lull i try to rub my eyes but one of them will always be fubar - which is almost as bad as not being able to see in heavy surf when my depth perception isn't working.

does anyone know a) why this happens and b) what can be done about it?

i've considered goggles but i don't fancy looking like a tool.

my vision is 100% perfect otherwise.

am i some sort of freak with seawater intolerant eyes?

[oldiebeginner]

i get really bad red eye from the salt water sometimes, stings for ages after!

try not rubbing em, i do this, but i think it might just make it worse...

[Jimi]

erm... don't have any advice other than closing your eyes to prevent water getting in...

I get the opposite. I have rubbish eyesight, and usually wear glasses all the time, but in the surf, when I get some water in my eyes I occasionally see really clearly (for a few brief milliseconds) and then it's back to my usual blur.

[thaya]

I have a similar problem but it doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes I get so much water in my eyes that when I pop up I can't see I thing so i just have to feel my way round until the water all drains out (only takes a few secs). Other times my eyes sting so badly that I just can't open them and I end up getting out of the water for good that day because I can't see at all! I still haven't figured out why this happens sometimes and not others Not sure what you can do about it...

[cjm_wales]

thanks for the advice peeps.

i went nuts and ordered a pair of seaspecs from ebay. if they don't work, i'll get some scuba goggles.

i'm to hooked to let it get in the way.

[drowningbitbybit]

Incidentally, I was advised by an optometrist never to use eyedrops which say they'll get rid of red-eye. The eyes getting bloodshot is what they're supposed to do to protect your eyes, so you dont want to be getting rid of that.

[CheeZee]

The eyes getting bloodshot is what they're supposed to do to protect your eyes, so you dont want to be getting rid of that.

.. note made and excuses formulated for future reference lmao

[Sillysausage]

best way is to rince them with clean fresh water after getting out, but don't know how to prevent them, although many people with contacts won't suffer from this, so maby having bad eyesight might be a good thing for surfers (although you can loose the contacts in the sea)

[oldiebeginner]

jimi's avatar's ace. The one running towards you...