Swimming with Contacts Question (plz read details)?

Question

I just started swimming laps and was wondering if swimming with contacts is okay. I have soft contacts that I am to change once a month. That and I am a bit nervous that (sometimes this happens) when I dive in, my goggles fall off from the force or when I somersault at the end of the lane, the goggles start to leak. Is it really bad for chlorinated water to get on your contacts? I really need them to swim as I have bad vision.

Answer 1

As far as i know the water does not effect the contacts, but it will cause your eyes to burn and the contact has a chance of falling out. The best advice would be to just try to get the goggles as tight as they can get so they dont fall off.

Answer 2

I can't give you a definitive answer of whether chlorine can severely harm your contacts (or eyes!) if you wear them while swimming, but I do know that you can order prescription swimming goggles.  That way you would not have to worry about your contacts at all, because you would not have to wear them while swimming.

Answer 3

When I used to wear contacts (I got lasiked) I used to swim with them all the time without a problem.  I had the same kind that you change every month.  I took care of mine though--cleaning them every night.  Occasionally I would get irritation in one eye but I couldn't trace the cause to the pool or not.

Answer 4

You are wise to be concerned, because the material those lenses are made of absorbs stuff like a sponge.

When I switched to monthly wear soft contacts last year (after many years with hard lenses), my eye doctor asked me to wear single-day lenses on days that I swim. She didn't say anything about chlorine, but did mention a water-borne fungus (present in pools, lakes, etc.) that could cause blindness. I imagine the risk of infection is small, but I'd rather not risk it.

Ask your eye doctor about it!