I am a contact lens wearer.
I'll just wear my glasses (any contact lens wearer should have a pair of "backup" glasses). I'll take a pair of lens in their sealed package and show it up front. If they take it, and I find I just can't live without lenses, I'll look for a pharmacy and either try to buy some disposable ones or find the name of a doctor who can prescribe them. Intil then, I'll wear glasses, and I won't let that spoil one second of my trip.

For years I wore glasses and didn't have contact lenses, so naturally I think of them as a vanity item, not the necessity some seem to think they are. I won't feel as pretty or comfortable without the lenses, but I will get to Italy.

This is not a time when vanity takes precedence.
This isn't a game, and it's not over. We are engaged in an ongoing test of survival in which the opponent wants nothing less than massive human destruction.

It's fine to ask questions here, but we are all being provided with detailed information about what's allowable onboard by airline websites and the government websites.

If everyone took a deep breath and made every effort to go with this new level of travel reality, those lines at the airport will move faster...

Now, not having my lipstick, that's a different matter entirely-I'm really panicking over that!!!

Lenses are prescription free in Belgium and the Netherlands, probably also in Germany. The same for reading glasses.
Of course, if you need bifocals or contacts for astigmatism, you first have to go to an optometrist or ophthalmologist for a prescription. But regular - or + disposable or frequent replacement lenses are available in supermarkets (Aldi, Trekpleister, Kruidvat, ...).

> Lenses are prescription free in Belgium and the Netherlands

Ok, that's not the case in France & in in Switzerlnad.

I've been thinking about this a lot.
I wear daily disposables and carry all lenses and my specs in my hand luggage. We are off to New Zealand for a month at the end of next month and I am really hoping this will be resolved before then.

Last night on the late news there was another TSA supv/news anchor Q&A.

Slight changes/modifications to the list now include:
- Mascarra specifically prohibited,
- lipstick is OK - but only traditional "lipstick" in a tube - no glosses, pots of gloss, brush on lip cover etc. (The dumb anchor did not follow up w/ a question about chapstick)
- Pacifiers (What Brits call a dummy) or other items w/ any sort of gel filling
- removeable gel shoe inserts
- Gel insoles built into a shoe are OK

Lyb: From what I've read/heard/seen over the last couple of days even &quot;<i>a teaspoon worth of solution</i>&quot; is not allowed -- unless it is a prescription.

Duh - How did that happen?? I had a paragraph about contacts/solutions and then added the other update - I must have had the paragraph highlighted and deleted it by accident.

Anyway - the upshot was - no contact lens solution whether it is an open or sealed container.

This is a common problem. If all contact lens wearers start sending letters to the airlines maybe they will work out a solution.

My contact-wearing friend is considering mailing her daily contacts to her hotel prior to her flight. She also is concerned that if she packs them in checked luggage, the suitcase may be lost or delayed. She tells me her glasses do not work well for her.

Glasses can be such a pain.
I was in Hong Kong and came out of the hotel onto the street and my glasses steamed up!
I got lenses very soon after that.

Here's an idea: call your doctor and ask him/her if it's ok to store your lenses in plain ol' water for that short period of time. That way you can bring your empty lens case and get some water on the plane to use.

Maybe that'll work?

Maybe for short periods plain water is okay, but I thought it's not. Otherwise, we'd be allowed to store our lenses in plain water on a regular basis. The reason for using the lens solution is because the water may have bacteria.

Right, that's why I suggested asking a doctor...

Plain water may irritate your eyes. In a pinch, you could _make_ your own saline by having a little packet of salt in your pocket; it could even fit in your wallet. You'll have to guesstimate, but being off by by even 50-100% will still be better than plain water. &quot;Normal&quot; saline is one-eighth teaspoon in 4 ounces of water. Practice at home; it's not that hard to visualize the right amount of salt.

Of course, it won't be bacteriostatic, but that should not matter if you change it (discard it) in 12 hours or less.

All this assuming no special eye conditions predisposing to keratitis or other infection risks/immune system abnormalities.

Best wishes,

Rex

ttt

This is fairly trailer trash...but I have pulled my contacts out more times than I can count and have left them in the juice glasses on the bathroom counter -- filled only with water. Why? I've forgotten to pack the saline...or been stranded somewhere overnight where I didn't think i'd need it...or had it leak out of the container -- you name it. The water does not seem to hurt them (or my eyes) in an overnight (overseas?) timeframe.

The trick will be the timing...I guess in this scenario, you are forced to wear them until your boarding group is called. Then you whip out your storage container and put them in there dry. Once the airplane is fully loaded and sufficiently safe enroute for the flight attendants to be answering requests...THEN you can ask for a skosh of water to fill your pods.

I don't know the answer/solution either, but I am hoping someone smarter/craftier than me checks this thread and provides an answer.

Me? I will look at this as a great excuse to buy some new, cool glasses...

Thanks for the advice. Just fyi my lenses are daily wear not disposable though. Anyway, I'll try to make do with how the situation will be in a couple of months.

OK, let me try to atone for my earlier churlish post (which I still stand by, though.)
As a former contact lens wearer, there were times I had to resort to some creative chemistry when the appropriate saline or disinfecting solution was not available. That ended when I picked up a raging eye infection from tap water.
Of all the suggestions above, aside from just packing the whole kit and caboodle in your checked luggage or mailing it to yourself at your arrival hotel, rex comes closest to sane with the idea of home brew saline for short term storage. Just do NOT use the tap water in the onboard loo - get some bottled water from the flight attendant. And when you land, make one of your first stops a place to get some &quot;real&quot; disinfecting solution.

Good point, Seamus. Indeed, everyone's eyes probably won't suffer the tap water well...mine don't care, so it works well for me...

On a related note, has anyone found a brand of saline that has a top/pouring mechanism that is more secure than the &quot;pop top&quot; type most all seem to favor? I always plan for a certain amount of leakage with them...

kit, the onboard water supply is particularly suspect - remember the flap a couple years ago when they actually inspected the holding tanks and found huge amounts of contamination? There was actually a movement to declare the onboard water nonpotable, but the airlines got that quashed. That's why most carriers now routinely stock bottled water in flight.

If you can get bottled water on the plane, use that. Vodka would be my second choice. I wouldn't put &quot;airplane tank&quot; water in my eyes because it's almost certainly contaminated.