I’m typing this at 36,475 feet, somewhere over the CA/NV state line, on my way to San Francisco (from Boston).
I’m nice and cozy in my window seat (always the window for me!) but I’m having trouble seeing the laptop screen because I’m wearing my glasses. I have Keratoconus (KC) and rely on sclerals to see (any detail). Glasses are my low-definition (emergency) backup.
I put my sclerals in this morning at 5:30am. My flight boarded at 8am. Fast-forward 7 hours to when I woke up from an unexpected nap 2 hours shortly after take-off. Damn my eyes hurt! As anyone who wears sclerals knows, sleeping in your lenses is no good.
I had no choice but to take my sclerals out mid-flight.
Thankfully, I was prepared. Here’s my approach to flying when you’re living a #sceral.life:
What I Carry On The Plane
I have a small zippered “scleral travel bag” that I always keep with me at my seat. In side I make sure to have the following:
- DMV Plunger
- Filling Solution; maybe 2-3 vials of Nutrifill or ScleralFil
- Mini (microfiber) towel
- My glasses
- Lens Case (which I prefill with Tangible Solution)
PRO TIP: After take-off cabin air pressure change will cause cases to leak so I always keep it in a little ziplock bag
- Filling Solution (e.g. – ScleralFil, Nutrifil)
- Generally, I check a bag with enough solution for my trip. But I always bring a few days’ supply with me on board in case a check bag goes missing.
| POST: Why you should avoid sleeping in your sclerals |
Here’s my approach to flying-in-sclerals:
What I bring on the plane
DRAFT TEXT
Research
✅ And while I experienced late-afternoon (a.k.a. – midday fogging), I easily popped my lenses in/out in the lodge with zero issues.
Here’s what I packed:
| Item | Location | Note |
| (1) Pair or Sclerals | in my eyes | Really wish I had a duplicate set! |
| (1) “Go Kit” | ski jacket | See Post: What’s a Go-Kit? |
| (2) Paper Towels | ski jacket | In case I need to fix my lenses on the mountain |
| (1) Contact Lens Case | car | In case I need to wear my glasses |
| (6) Addipak (single-use) Salines | car | |
| (1) Pair of Glasses | car |
