Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are a pain in the ass. Here is what works for me:

Hand hygiene for removing and putting in your lenses:

• Wipe your hands down with a baby wipe.
• Next, use hand sanitizer.
• Now, use another baby wipe to get the alcohol off your hands. Simple, right?

I bring a small mirror for my tent and take care of my contacts first and last thing in the morning.

Bring plenty of eye drops, and share them with your fellow burners.

Goggles

• I highly recommend both clear goggles and shaded goggles.
• Buy goggles that are dust rated.

Keratoconus (people who wear hard lenses...for the few of you!)

Do you have keratoconus and wear hard lenses? This info is for you!

• First of all, you will be fine. Dust is EXTREMELY irritating with hard lenses, but my solution is to have goggles on my neck 24/7. It should never take you more than a few seconds to have goggles covering your eyes if you notice the wind is picking up, or a big gust is coming. Clear goggles at night, shaded goggles during the day.
• If you have keratoconus and wear hard lenses (RGP lenses) make sure you have ISO rated dust proof goggles. I have SIX backup pairs. Seriously. I even store them in different areas incase a bag of mine somehow is misplaced. When I was wearing RGP lenses in both eyes, my entire burn would have been ruined if I lost my goggles or they were damaged. I also bring extra pairs in case I find another burner who needs some.
• The best solution for me was to finally switch to piggy-backing, which is wearing a soft lens underneath your hard lens. Talk to your optometrist about this solution. Now I have nearly zero problems with dust in my eyes on and off the playa. I think anyone with RGP lenses should at least know how to piggy back and have some soft lenses (with no power/strength) on hand for times they are in dusty environments. I don't want to sound dramatic but this was honestly life changing in terms of eye comfort for me.