Modifying burning man goggles for blepharitis & fitting in motorcycle helmet

Modifying burning man goggles for blepharitis & fitting in a motorcycle helmet is a necessity for my continued long-term overlanding.

My blepharitis (dry eye syndrome) started way back in Africa, where I didn't use a peaked helmet, or even put any sun block on. Years of driving in blistering hot sun finally took their toll as they manifested into puffy red swollen eyelids on my way driving up to San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. For some reason the cold air brought it on and I suffered the pain and a less than attractive appearance until I got help from an ophthalmologist.

From that day on I had to manage a chronic condition where prevention is so much preferable to intervention. Whilst I wished I had used sun block on my eyelids, or better still a peaked helmet in the past, now I had to find methods to stop my eye becoming swollen in the future.

During my visit to burning man and all the preparations made for that event, I discovered that goggles were an ideal saviour for this condition. Stopping the desert storms getting into my eyes lead me to continue wearing goggles for years beyond the burn.

The first thing I did was gaffer (silver) tape over the air vents on the goggles, my eyes had become sensitive to even the slightest breeze.

I could then fit my goggles on inside my motorcycle helmet, behind my visor, a snug fit and a lot of plastic, glasses, goggles, visor and sun visor at times. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I immediately felt the benefits of sealing my eyes away from the wind, cold and dryness that affects them so much.

At some point, under the pressure of my helmet, I found the adjustment buckle of the headband digging into my skull, so I broke that off and applied Velcro to the band so that I could still adjust the band and no longer have plastic digging into my head.

However, the hinges on these goggles were pressing ever so slightly against my temples, also under pressure from the foam of the helmet.

So one day when I came upon some girls elastic hair things in Saigon,

I ripped out the hinges,

and made knots with the elastic to tie to the headband

to have a much more comfortable fit.