Ahh. my eyes! can anyone help me out? ?

Question

i have this thing where light expands in all directions so when i look at things, its often like when someone is looking underwater with their eyes open. mostly blurry.

the doctor's told me mine's one of the worst they've seen. around.. 500 something... what ever' its called. and im only 15.

i also play water polo for my school team. and i was just wondering, that if i open my eyes under water too often (because goggles aren't allowed in the game) then will the chlorine slowly worsen my eyes?

i also take the time to carefully rinse out the chlorine after i play every time. but i started training for a new season today. and it was pretty bad. it stung for hours and hours. and even now it knida irritating me. feels like their dry or something, despite the fact that i constantly put eye droplets and splash water on them. can anyone help me? my eyes are killin' me. it ahsen't gotten this bad before. and now it seems like my vision has gotten alot worse. like everything is even More blurry.

also if anyone here can give me some tips on how to better my eye site that'd be great. thanks. answer's would be very much appreciated.

Answer 1

I suggest purchasing saline solution and rinsing out your eyes really well with each time after your eyes are exposed to chlorine.  I use unisol 4 and it works really well.  

The part of your question that really bothers me is that no one is allowed to wear goggles when playing.  There are many people who wear corrective lenses that may not be able to play because of that stupid requirement and contact lenses should not be worn while swimming.  Chlorine is also an eye irritant as we well and can harm your eyes over time.

If I was your parent, I would be contacting whoever is responsible for that rule to see what can be done to have it changed.  I would escalate it as far as necessary to have something done.  No one should have to experience what you are going through.  If your eyes are irritated, then it makes everything difficult and could impact your performance in school.  Please have your parents address the no goggle rule and encourage your teammates to do the same.  It really needs to be changed.

Answer 2

Chlorine is a really strong chemical.  If your eyes are really sensitive it's not a good idea to keep opening them under water.  You should talk to your doctor about this.  If you aren't satisfied with him then get a different one.

Good luck!  I feel your pain...I have a lot of eye problems, too.

Answer 3

Sounds like you should ask your doctor about eye care medicines, because there are different types of eye drops.  if the current one isn't working, perhaps there's a more specific one to use.

To better your eye sight, well what I do is to look at a close object, and then focus on something far away, then back at the close object, and repeat as necessary.

Chlorine isn't your enemy, it's because it's a pool, full of sweat, urine, and other things with ammonia in them.

Chlorine gets linked with eye irritation instead of the real culprit--chloramines

Chlorine has been getting a bad rap for years. Many homeowners and swimmers commonly blame eye irritation on its ubiquitous presence in pools.

"While some people may experience reaction to it, most suffer eye irritation something far more menacing chloramines.

Chloramines form when contaminants containing ammonia, such as sweat, urine, fertilizer or a breakdown of other chemicals used in are introduced into the and react with the chlorine."

I would avoid opening your eyes in the water if you can.  It's good that you take time to wash out the chloramines from your eyes.

If you can, also, make sure your pool place tests the pH of their pool FREQUENTLY.

"Most standards for swimming pools ask that you maintain your pH between 7.2 and 7.8 because those are desirable ranges for your eyes and skin" [Lachoky]

If the pH is too low, it's an acid, and acids are bad for your skin and eyes.  Too high, then a base, and bases, like ammonia (in urine), are bad too.

The one way to get rid of chloramines, is to raise the pH ten times the normal amount, which breaks the chloramine bonds, then get it back to normal again. (Tell your lifeguard, or pool manager this)

Thats all I know.

Good luck.