Many people swim in contact lenses, but is it a good thing to do?
Contact lenses are roughly 50 percent water, so whatever is in the water will tend to be in the contact lens when you get out of the pool. In a swimming pool this means that you leave the pool with a contact lens saturated with Chlorine or Bromine and other “stuff” which may be in the pool water. Unlike your eye, which naturally flushes itself on a continuous basis, it may take quite a while for these substances to wash out of the contact lens.
Fresh water changes the shape of soft contact lenses making them fit tighter. If you swim in fresh water you may have trouble removing your lenses immediately after swimming. You should wait at least 20 minutes before trying to remove the lens or use a rewetting drop or some saline to help loosen the lens.
Because contact lenses lower the eyes natural immunity, you become more susceptible to an infection by an organism called acanthamoeba, which lives in fresh water. While this type of infection is relatively rare (1 per 30,000) it is very difficult to treat and usually leads to permanent vision loss.
If you just have to get in the water with your contacts on use swim goggles to reduce contact with the water. Obviously keeping you head out of the water will reduce risk greatly. Finally consider the use of a one-day disposable lens that you discard after swimming.
