Eyecare While Traveling

By Courtney S. Ries

Dealing with saline solutions, contacts, prescription, glasses, and eye protection isn't much fun but it's something that many travelers have to plan for when they're on the road. Stumbling around your Seattle hostel, blind as a bat, combing through hair, dirt and who knows what else on the bathroom floor while searching for your only set of contacts isn't a pleasant experience. Here are some tips for making sure your eyes are as prepared as the rest of your body before you go on a trip.

Visit an eye doctor: If it's been awhile since you've read the chart, make sure to schedule an appointment with the eye doctor when you plan for your shots and physical. It should be at least a month before you depart so if there are any changes with your prescription/brand you have the time to adjust and make corrections.

Pass on the trial size of solution: If you're a contact lens wearer, skip the mini bottles and grab the big one. You might not be able to find your brand on the road, so cover yourself for at least a month or two with a full bottle. Besides, if you have a little extra at the end of your trip, you can donate it onto a fellow contact-wearing traveler at your hostel in London England before you fly home.

Grab the extra glasses: You know, the super ugly ones that you swore you'd never wear again? If they're not the right prescription, some correction is better than nothing if you break your primary pair, or you're unable to wear contacts.

Bring a doctor's note and prescription: It many not do you much good out of the country, or it may save you a lot of hassle. If you need to get an extra pair of glasses ASAP, it should help smooth the way, as well as letting you know the correct vision adjustments. Same with contacts.

Switch to disposables, or at least bring a few as backup: Contacts get grimy at home. They get especially grimy on the road when you're wearing them for long hours, and sometimes staying in less-than-sanitary conditions. Disposables allow you to take 'em out, put them in the case, and pop them back in the morning. Plus, if you drop one, you don't feel compelled to get on your hands and knees to find it, you just open up another.

Article added on October 18, 2005

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