Can we Swim at the Beach or Pool when Wearing Contact Lens?
You are maybe wearing corrective contact lenses or Korean circle lenses to change the color and the size of your eyes but you are wondering if, it’s possible to wear circle lenses while swimming at the beach or in a swimming pool?
Swimming in the sea with your color lenses is not recommended at all. The water of the sea is full of little particles in suspension as sand or algae, and blended with salt this mix can damage your lenses and make you feel uncomfortable while wearing your lenses. In rare cases dangerous bacteria contained in the sea water could stick to your contact lens and infect your eye.
Also, in the sea while swimming even if you keep your head and your eyes off the water you could be hit by a wave and loose your circle lenses. Swimming in non-salty water as a lake or a river can have the same consequences on your eyes and your color lenses.
If after all you decide to keep your color lenses and go to swim, you have to know that it is impossible to open your eyes underwater without loosing your contact lenses, so avoid doing it !
For most of people swimming pools seem safe but you can’t imagine what we can find in their water… If we want to compare, sea water is much safer than swimming pool water. Even if chlorine is used as antimicrobial pesticide in the swimming pool water, it can’t kills all the bacteria. The most dangerous swimming pools are the public ones, imagine all the people swimming there. Some of these people may have a desease or virus which could be transmitted to you and your eyes.
Sometimes swimming pools are not well cared and germs and bacteria could proliferate, even if the water is still transparent and look clean. Sometimes a parasite called Acanthamoeba Keratitis can be active in swimming pool water and cause total blindness.
Another annoyance in swimming pool water will be the chlorine itself because it can make your circle lenses really dry in a very short time.
We don’t want to make you afraid but it is better to know all the risks before attempt to swim with your contact lenses. It is possible to swim but you have to be really careful to keep your lenses dry. Don’t forget to close your eyes when you are going under water or when a wave is coming.
If you want to keep your contact lenses while swimming in the sea, the river, a lake or in a swimming pool then you should wear accessories like swimming goggles or diving mask to make the experience safer.
If you can take off your contact lenses we recommend you to do it anyway, this is the only way to be 100% safe.
If you have used your lenses to swim please respect the golden rule which is to clean your lenses with special care solution after each use.
The best solution if you really want to swim with your color lenses is to use “daily” contact lenses which are disposable after use. With these circle lenses you will avoid any risk of infection and save money if you loose or damage them because disposable contact lenses are cheaper.
Diving mask or swimming goggles also exist with corrective lenses, it is the best solution if you eyes need vision correction.