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Soft Contacts?

B

BSEagle1

Senior member
I'm currently 18, and am going to be a firefighter. Trouble is, my vision is worse than the required vision of 90% of departments, which is 20/100 in one eye and 20/80 in the other, correctable to 20/20. Mine is 20/100, or worse, in -both- eyes. But that's ok; because if my vision therapy (seeing minor results so far) doesn't work, I found out that 'successful long-term wearers of soft contacts' are often not subject to this rule.

But that brings up another question. What do they mean by 'successful long-term wearers'? Can any of you who wear soft contacts provide some insight here?

Here is an excerpt from a fire department's recruit requirement list, as an example of what I mean:

Far visual acuity shall be at least 20/30 binocular corrected with contact lenses or spectacles. Far visual acuity uncorrected shall be at least 20/100 binocular for wearers of hard contacts or spectacles. Successful long-term soft contact lenses shall not be subject to the uncorrected criteria.

And here is another example, from Maui County Fire Department:

Distance vision: 20/20 binocular vision, with or without correction. Vision correction by soft contact lenses. Soft contact lens wearers must have 20/200 or better binocular vision before correction, corrected to 20/20. Applicants must provide certification that he/she has successfully worn soft contact lenses for the past 12 months.

Any information appreciated 🙂
 
Originally posted by: DLeRium
hard contacts > soft contacts.

real men wear hard contacts
Click to expand...


Well apparently, firemen don't 😛 Atleast not half blind ones.

Maybe I should be more specific. What would have to happen to not be able to wear them for prolonged periods? We're talking 12-24 hours here...since fire fighters work 24 hour shifts.
 
I've worn contacts since 5th grade. I'm 32 now. I've tried just about every brand out there and have found that 1-day Acuvues are the most comfortable. A little expensive ($30/month or so) but worth every penny.
 
I ain't getting lasik. Firstly, I fear longterm side effects. Secondly, many fire departments make you go through a lot of extra crap if you have had lasik. Thirdly, if I see the halos or anything like that, or lose my night sight, I imagine my chances of even getting hired would go down -very- significantly.

And yeah, words like 'laser' 'scalpel' and 'blade' are not fun to put in the same sentence as 'eye' 😛 Unless it's 'eye lasers!'.


Edit: Whoops...can't count right today.
 
Um...all the requirements say is that you have to have used them for a year. If you don't have astigmatism, there is a 99% chance that you will be able to wear them, but according to the info you provided, you will have to use them for an entire year before becoming a fireman.

Edit: that one year requirement wasn't from your department...find out from the department you would be applying to what their exact requirments are.
 
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