Wearing Contact Lenses

Good question. My son will be fitted for contacts tomorrow. I was wondering about this as well.

We knew there was a problem when he was having trouble picking up the throws from 3rd base. He's always been an excellent 1stBaseman, but recently...since wearing the contacts, his timing appears to be off when catching the ball. He says that when the lights in the park go on, he sees rings around the lights and the glare is stronger...

I've been wearing contacts for ten years now. I started wearing them at 11 because it was hard to fit the sports goggles under my catching mask, plus they would fog up a lot too. I do not remember having to make any adjustments at the plate because of the contacts. When my perscription changed though I would get headaches and what not for a few days when wearing new glasses or contacts. That may have something to do with your sons problems. But also remember the nature of hitting. One day you're smoking everything, the next you can't get a hit to save your life. Make sure the contacts aren't just an easy excuse.

Also, I had problems with dust from the field when I was younger. My eyes for the first season or two weren't adjusted to dealing with the contacts getting a little bit of dirt on them. Make sure you keep some drops with you at all times, maybe a pair of glasses, or a couple extra contacts. You don't want to lose one during a game and be stuck without being able to see. My eyes have gotten used to the dirt and dust so I haven't had a problem in quite a while.

Coach, the rings may be contacts that aren't fitting his eye right, or they may be dirty. I wear disposable lenses and have gotten a pair here or there that just don't fit my eye properly and cause a little blurriness when trying to focus on certain objects. The rings when the lights come on could be from the same thing. Also, make sure that when he takes them out his hands are clean and that he cleans the contacts after taking them out and before putting them back in. My eyes were extremely sensitive to dirt and what not when I first started wearing contacts.

I'd also like to ask how long has he been wearing the lenses? Does he wear them all day or just for games?

Well, it may be just a case of the kid being mentally distracted while he's trying to get use to the idea of having something in his eye. But if he is saying he is not seeing clearly he should let his optometrist know. It is not uncommon to have to take a couple of tries at getting the 1st prescription and brand right so they are comfortable and clear.

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Originally posted by CCKnights:
Make sure you keep some drops with you at all times, maybe a pair of glasses, or a couple extra contacts. You don't want to lose one during a game and be stuck without being able to see. My eyes have gotten used to the dirt and dust so I haven't had a problem in quite a while.

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CCKnights...That's great information! I'll make certain he knows!

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Originally posted by CCKnights:
I'd also like to ask how long has he been wearing the lenses? Does he wear them all day or just for games?

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He's been wearing contacts for approx 3 weeks now...He sometimes wears them to school and goes directly to practice from there...Other times, he's put them on about an hour before going to practice!

There will be an adjustment period, and some people just can't wear contacts.

Have him go back to his eye doc and have them check him out again. It might be as simple as some transposed numbers on his script.

Thank u KelerDad

Coach ...

Our son is a pitcher and started wearing contacts when he was 12. (He was still hitting at the time and it also improved his hitting.) He had an adjusment period, but it wasn't long. He always had drops with him, and eventually went to the disposable lenses to avoid irritation (he was sensitive to the enzymes his eyes produced from wearing contacts). The disposables really aren't that expensive in comparison to the regular ones, especially when you consider how frequently young boys can lose their contacts on the bathroom carpet !!!

When his prescription is ready for a change, the lenses don't fit correctly and tend to float around the eye.

But one thing I noticed that you mentioned ... the frequency or infrequency of wearing the lenses versus his glasses. Our son wears his glasses when he first gets up in the morning so he doesn't have to put his contacts in until he showers, etc. My gut feeling is that this child is not giving his eyes enough opportunity to adjust to the contacts if he isn't wearing them frequently. The contacts correct the eyes differently than do the glasses merely because they fit directly against the eye's own lens. And if I am not mistaken, the Rx for the contacts may be slightly different from that for the glasses because of that difference.

I roo would suggest that he go back to his eye doctor, be sure the lens brand and style are right for him and that his Rx is correct, and talk with the doctor about the amount of time he is wearing the contacts versus his glasses ... something just tells me that it might be the problem.

Good advice. I think Futureback.Mom is correct:

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My gut feeling is that this child is not giving his eyes enough opportunity to adjust to the contacts if he isn't wearing them frequently.

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My son has worn contacts since he was about eleven...He has never had any problems with contacts but he does keep them in from the time he showers in the AM until he goes to bed. He uses the disposables that last about a month. When he goes from glasses to contacts and back creates some depth of field problems because objects look larger or smaller. We had a back up catcher in HS that had problems with hitting and catching because he wasn't consistent with what he wore (glasses one day, contacts the next). Have your player talk to his doctor and have him ask specific questions about baseball and contacts.
Good Luck,
Fungo

Thanks folks...I take the time to read all your responses...they're all very helpful! I certainly have a better insight on this issue! Thank you all much!

Ultimately, you are going to have to figure it out. Contacts are the only way in baseball. However, don't make to big of an issue of it with the kid (you know how teenagers are).

Mine has worn contacts since 11. No problems at all with dust, dirt or anything (played catcher).

But he didn't hit great last year and I noticed one eye drifting slightly once in a while so we got him checked. It was similar to strabismus where sometimes his eyes don't focus the same, usually close up. They said the contacts compound the problem a little.

The first doc told us tough luck, should have caught it when he was younger, so we found another one who has him on a 6 mo. program doing eye excerises 4-5 times per week.

So if your son's problem doesn't clear up soon get him checked thouroughly by someone else.

Thank you for the info...Coach Robert!

My son started wearing contacts when he was 12-13.

At least part of the adjustment comes from change in the location of the corrected view: with glasses the corrected focus is at a spot slightly in front of your eye while with contacts the corrected focus sits on the surface of your eye.

He also dances and he noticed that with contacts, he could complete turns without getting dizzy because his moving eye did not have to catch up to the lens of the glasses. With turns, you pick an unmoving object on which to focus as you came around and when done right, you will never get queasy.

I agree that the young man needs to wear the contacts for awhile before game time.

Keep practicin'
He'll get his swing back!

I'm not a ball player but I have worn contacts and glasses for several decades.

I have found that if I have been wearing my contacts and switch to glasses that there are a few minutes of depth perception adjustment and same with going from glasses to contacts.

I have also been incorrectly fitted for contacts before and that could be the problem.

Disposable lenses have worked great for myself. I agree with others that he needs to wear the lenses several hours before game or practice time to adjust. That and keep them moist with drops. Good luck hope it works for the kid.

Thank you folks...I'm taking all your suggestions under consideration! On a positive note...We had batting practice and it appears that he's strating to come around with the bat! He looks like he's beggining to make the adjustments...We'll keep our fingers crossed!

Interesting article on the new Nike MaxSight amber contact lenses being tested at the pro level: New contact lenses clear baseball's future

I suppose you could get a similar effect of filtering out blue light to enhance reds (and thus the seams of the ball) by wearing amber-color sports sunglasses, but I don't recall ever seeing any batters wearing sunglasses ... any rules against that other than the the "chin music" a pitcher might give a batter to discourage it?

back on January 20th...The motive for posting the original message regarding the use of contacts was due to my lack of knowledge in how they are used and if there were any special concerns when it came to playing baseball. I received many informative replies and they certainly helped me aware of things I didn't know before.

Today I write to let you all know that his use of contact lenses appears to have contributed to a major improvement, not only in his hitting but also, in his pitching as well! I guess there was an adjustment period where he needed to feel comfortable wearing them. He now has better judgement in his pitch selection! He's hitting the ball with much more authority and his pitching location has also improved! I definitely atribute this improvement in going from wearing glasses, to contact lenses. I thank all of you for your insight and support. I will say if anyone was considering making this change...I highly recommend it! Thank u all!