Sports Vision Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are essential to any athlete who requires vision correction. Can you imagine pro athletes wearing glasses while playing hockey, or basketball, or football? Contacts provide clear vision while also providing unobstructed peripheral vision.

But that's not all they can provide. A few years back, Nike and Bausch & Lomb collaberated to produce a revolutionary new contact lens called Nike MAXSIGHT. The lens was designed with a tint to enhance sport-specific vision above and beyond what a normal soft contact lens could provide. There were two colours available: amber and grey.

The amber lenses were designed for fast moving ball sports such as tennis, soccer, and baseball. The theory here is that human visual acuity is actually optimized around the yellow wavelengths, so the lens will allow mostly yellow rays through and absorbs the rest.

The grey lenses were more for sports or activities generally conducted in bright environments but did not require tracking of fast moving objects such as running or golf. The lens decreased glare thus making vision more comforable.

TSN recently did a story on Henry Burris, the quarterback of the Calgary Stampeders (CFL). In the 2008 season, Burris was wearing the amber tinted lenses. Calgary went on to win the Grey Cup that year. Burris decided to go back to the lenses this season, hoping for similar results.

In the first pre-season game of the 2011 season, The Stamps were shut out by the BC Lions, 24-0. Maybe Burris wasn't wearing the lenses that day ;)

Here's the video of the interview on TSN. You can clearly see the redish tint around his iris that is coming from the amber tinted lenses. http://watch.tsn.ca/cfl-news-and-highlights/#clip487910

Unfortunately, the MAXSIGHT lenses were discontinued shortly after they were introduced. There are other lens designers that produce a similar lens, but they're harder to find. Ask your eye doctor about sports vision lenses.

Henry Burris mentions in his interview that with the lenses in, lights seemed to be dimmer and he was able to look right into the sun without any problems. I would like to interrupt Mr. Burris here for a moment... Understandably, the tinted lenses may help make vision more comfortable in sunlight, but under no circumstances should anyone be staring directly at the sun!
Please refer to Sunburn in Your Eyes for more information.

Do Cucumbers Cure Dark Circles?

Numerous times in my life, mostly in my teens, I had people approach me and ask me if I had been in a fight or punched in the face for some reason. Most of the time, the answer was no. At first I wondered why people kept asking me this question? I soon realized that, unfortunately for me, I was predisposed to developing "bags" and "dark circles" under my eyes.

I always wondered why. The answer I was given most often was that I wasn't sleeping enough. But, honestly, as a teen I was getting 8-10 hours of sleep every weeknight and probably closer to 14 on weekends (yes, I was a lazy kid). So, then the answer changed to "you're sleeping too much". I would like to take a moment here to thank everyone in the past who supplied me with this invaluable information.

So why do we get dark circles and bags under our eyes??

First, lets talk a little anatomy!
The skin covering our eyelids is very thin. In fact, its the thinnest of any part of the body. This makes the skin more translucent (somewhat see through). Immediately underneath this thin skin is a dense network of small blood vessels which can dilate and become leaky just like all other blood vessels in the body.

Genetics
Unfortunately, this is the most likely answer for the majority of people. Thin skin plus superficial blood vessels equals dark circles. Simple equation. Its usually more pronounced in fair skin individuals but can also be noticeable in dark skin as well.

Allergies
People who suffer from allergies often have puffy eyes. This is because allergies cause blood vessels to dilate and become leaky. Dilation of the vessels adds to the colour and the leaking makes the eyelids swell.

Rubbing Your Eyes
I wrote a blog on this a while back explaining why its bad. In this case, rubbing can cause the little blood vessles to break. This results in darkening and swelling. Also, in allergies, rubbing can release more of the histamines that cause the allergic response in the first place.

Sleep and Stress
Less sleep and more stress. Bad for you in so many ways.

Age
As we age, our skin loses elasticity and slowly begins to sag. This exaggerates the look of bags under the eyes.

What's the Treatment?? 

There are so many creams, ointments, and roller-thingys on the market that claim to reverse the appearance of dark circles. What I have always wondered is, if these creams, ointments, and roller-thingys all worked so well, then why is there a new product coming out every other day??

Applying Cold
What do we do when we sprain an ankle? How about for a bump on the head? One of the first things we reach for anytime there's swelling is an ice pack. The cold helps decrease swelling by decreasing inflammation and reducing blood flow to the affected area. The same simple therapy can be applied to our eyelids.

Cucumbers
As far as I can tell, there's no scientific reason for cucumbers to be the miracle cure. I've read in places that they contain some nutrients that help lighten skin, but as we have already established, the skin is not usually the problem. The only thing I can think of is that cucumbers are cool (in temperature, not social status) and as we discussed, applying something cold can reduce swelling.

Cold Tea Bags
Its possible that the caffeine in tea can help constrict the blood vessels below the skin's surface. And again, the cooling effect would be helpful.

Make-Up
My favourite solution.

Laser Treatment
This is generally reserved for people who have skin pigmentation problems.

I worked with an Oculo-Plastics surgeon for a little while during one of my clinical externships. I asked him if there was anything he could do for dark circles around the eyes. His advice: "Cover your eyes and tan the rest of your face".

If you are ever worried about the skin on or around your eyelids, please see your eye doctor or dermatologist.