Cloudy vision - race day swim

General
1

Ive asked about this before, and Ive asked my optician but got no where then forgot about it. Last weekend it happened again, and I forgot about it until the goggles thread just reminded me.

My vision goes cloudy in one eye. If you’ve ever slept with a contact lens in and removed it in the morning, you might know what I mean. Its like the lens has clouded your vision, but you remove it and its still cloudy.

Ive only had it happen a few times and only in races; Ironman UK (2017 I think), there was another race maybe Lanza 2019 I cant quite recall, and then last saturday IMVR Kona.

The first time I was wearing lenses, so I thought it might be the lens and/or the waters of Pennington Flash. Since then I dont wear lenses in the swim, I add them in T1, but then it happened again. So not the lens. Then Saturday, no lenses, no weird water, no head injuries from other swimmers…I dont get whats different?

Its never happened in training, and Ive done 3800m in the pool before.

It clears up in something like ten or fifteen minutes, by which time Im on the bike.

2

One thought. It is perhaps something that you are using to clean your goggles that is then getting into you eye. From your description however I think that this is unlikely and I think that you really should go and see your optometrist. (I always wear lenses for races, including the swim, and have never had a problem with them)

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3

I get this after about 4 hours on the bike and it takes a few hours to subside. I don’t wear contacts and have tip-top vision but when they cloud over it is really annoying. I’ve always put it down to fatigue but it doesn’t happen when I’m just tired.

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4

If it only happens in ‘race’ situations it almost sounds ‘stress related’? Or is there a certain pair of goggles you keep only for events?

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5

Same goggles as last year, and no water got in.

I guess I am worried it is stress/pressure some kind of link to glaucoma, or indicative of some cardiovascular problem. Which isbwhy I was disappointed the optician didnt have much to say other than “dont wear lenses when you swim”.

6

Really? Ive never heard of people just getting cloudy vision before. Certainly Ive never had it in any other situation than these race day swims.

7

Yes it has been happening for a few years. Normally just my right eye.

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8

Slightly related but i get it in the mornings quite a bit. Normally clears up after 10/15 mins or so, but can last up to half an hour. Had it the worst i’ve had it yet earlier in the year, can’t really remember what i was up to or exactly when it was to work out what may have caused it though. Other than that my vision is perfect, so always found it really weird.

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