Surfer's eye - pterygium

[lavueltalmundo]

Hey guys,

Apparently having "pterygium" also known as surfer's eye is pretty common and the recommendation made my ophthalmologists is to wear sunnies while kiting. However, I've always lost my sunnies and to be honest I dont know how safe it is to wear even a pair that is well strapped if you do high jumps/crash often and ride somewhat aggressively, so I have constantly ditched the idea of sunglasses. I do wear a cap all the time, but at 31yo I have that pterygium in both eyes and its starting to become rather painful. I just wonder how many other kiters actually suffer from this too and what have they done to tackle it.

Anyone on the same boat or that has had that surgery and has some recommendations?

Would appreciate any input!

[sarc]

Gath helmet with visor

[Leon van Bergen]

Hey guys,

Apparently having "pterygium" also known as surfer's eye is pretty common and the recommendation made my ophthalmologists is to wear sunnies while kiting. However, I've always lost my sunnies and to be honest I dont know how safe it is to wear even a pair that is well strapped if you do high jumps/crash often and ride somewhat aggressively, so I have constantly ditched the idea of sunglasses. At 31yo I have that pterygium in both eyes.

Anyone on the same boat or that has had that surgery and has some recommendations? I feel that as long as I kite I will have that "surfer's eye"

Would appreciate any input!

Lavueltalmundo, why don't you use the search option first?

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2406405&p=1097614&h ... e#p1097614

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2380855&hilit=surfer+eye

[lavueltalmundo]

Hey guys,

Apparently having "pterygium" also known as surfer's eye is pretty common and the recommendation made my ophthalmologists is to wear sunnies while kiting. However, I've always lost my sunnies and to be honest I dont know how safe it is to wear even a pair that is well strapped if you do high jumps/crash often and ride somewhat aggressively, so I have constantly ditched the idea of sunglasses. At 31yo I have that pterygium in both eyes.

Anyone on the same boat or that has had that surgery and has some recommendations? I feel that as long as I kite I will have that "surfer's eye"

Would appreciate any input!

Lavueltalmundo, why don't you use the search option first?

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2406405&p=1097614&h ... e#p1097614

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2380855&hilit=surfer+eye

I checked those too before, but thanks. If I post it again it is because I didnt find the answers I needed on the older posts and its a forum after all.

[Topaz]

Yeah, fair concern there. I put them on when the conditions are mild and the sun is bright, otherwise, I go without.
It's very easy to loose them on the waves, even with straps. I got a rash guard with hood, so I strap my glasses and then put the hood over. The hood saves me from the sun and saves my glasses as well.

[papasmerf]

Hey guys,

Apparently having "pterygium" also known as surfer's eye is pretty common and the recommendation made my ophthalmologists is to wear sunnies while kiting. However, I've always lost my sunnies and to be honest I dont know how safe it is to wear even a pair that is well strapped if you do high jumps/crash often and ride somewhat aggressively, so I have constantly ditched the idea of sunglasses. I do wear a cap all the time, but at 31yo I have that pterygium in both eyes and its starting to become rather painful. I just wonder how many other kiters actually suffer from this too and what have they done to tackle it.

Anyone on the same boat or that has had that surgery and has some recommendations?

Would appreciate any input!

those kurtis sunglasses are pretty wipe out proof

[SMJ]

I wear Maui Jim Watermans when I'm not going crazy. These have never come off, but they're expensive, and they sink. You can get them for around $100 on eBay.
https://www.mauijim.com/US/en_US/shop/s ... lsrc=aw.ds

I wear SeaSpecs when I'm going ballistic. These are a lot cheaper, and they float. Although, I've never had them come off during a fall:
https://www.seaspecs.com/index?gclid=Cj ... HwQAvD_BwE

I used to wear the Dragon H2O floating specs, but they don't come with the builit-in band. Something to consider if you don't want the band around your head, but you can expect these to fall off. I lost a pair after they fell off even though they float:
https://www.dragonalliance.com/tech-h2o ... lsrc=aw.ds

There's a slew of other brands out there, but these are pretty good quality. Can't comment on surgery.

[Matteo V]

If you are good enough that you dont need to "look" cool, put on a helmet. Then you wont lose strapoed sunglasses anymore.

[patrelsa]

I just had a pterygium removed oct 1st ,now its back again and more painful,when they get removed should they come back so quickly....i wear cheap sun glasses now.I will get this new one removed ASAP,but do they go away themselves?whats the danger of them ,besides the irritation?

[jakemoore]

I just had a pterygium removed oct 1st ,now its back again and more painful,when they get removed should they come back so quickly....i wear cheap sun glasses now.I will get this new one removed ASAP,but do they go away themselves?whats the danger of them ,besides the irritation?

Yes they can come back quickly. Replacing the pterygiun with a conjunctival graft and using Mitomicin C reduces the recurrence to less than 1%.

If there is an early recurrence you may be able to treated it medically with your doctors supervision.

Stay away from naphthaolazone and tetrahydrazolazine and the other vasoconstrictors. Visiene Clear Eyes Rhoto etc. That will just make it worse in the long run.

A small pterygium is best ignored because they can be more aggressive if they recur. But if it gets close to the center of the vision for example causing astigmatism it is time for it to go. Once it’s in the center it will leave a scar that will block the sight.

Best to wear sunglasses to prevent the first prerygium. I’m also a big fan of rinsing the eyes with fresh water or even better an artificial tear after a session to take the irritation down.

The pterygium has no idea how much you spend on glasses but does respond if you don’t wear them. The helmet to retain the sunglasses is a top tip and will make the neurologist happy too.