Tips for spontaneous swimming with contact lenses

June 29, 2017 11:17 AM

I'm going to visit a friend in their new city and one of the things they said about stuff we could do was: "Def bring swimwear by the way. Lake and river have lots of places to swim, jump off bridges and wee bars next to the river" Sounds great! Except that I wear contact lenses all the time. Are there any smart ways to enjoy water in summer while still wearing contacts?

Potentially useful information: my lenses are two weekly, I've never really done it but pretty sure I could put them in and out without a mirror, my eyesight isn't so bad that I'll be unable to operate without the lenses in but obviously I do need them to be able to see properly.

posted by neilb449 to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (22 answers total)

Get goggles and keep them with you. If the goggles are leaking, fix them. Keep your eyes closed when you're worried, and bring extra contacts in case of disaster.
posted by brainmouse at 11:19 AM on June 29, 2017 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Keep your eyes closed when you're underwater and bring a spare pair with you, but other than that don't worry about it.
posted by craven_morhead at 11:27 AM on June 29, 2017 [10 favorites]

Yeah, I swim in contacts and it's never caused any issues for me.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:29 AM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I pretty much always swim in contacts and it isn't an issue. If I'm planning to like, swim laps, I wear goggles. Otherwise, I just close my eyes and am prepared to blink then back in place if I get splashed. I'd bring an extra pair and your glasses as back up but I bet you'll be fine!
posted by MadamM at 11:36 AM on June 29, 2017 [6 favorites]

I've never had an issue being around water with my contacts in either. Do you wear your contacts when you take a shower? If not, start doing that now just so you'll get used to the feeling.
posted by dawkins_7 at 11:41 AM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I always wear contacts and all of the "nature" swimming I've done, whether in lakes, rivers, ocean &c never involved putting head underwater. Even if you jump into the lake and splash in, you'd have your eyes closed until you got back above water. There should be no issue.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:46 AM on June 29, 2017

Just don't put your face in the water and you'll be fine!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 11:51 AM on June 29, 2017

The entire reason I got contacts was to better enjoy a 2-week trip where I was snorkeling a lot (with goggles/scuba mask). If you're worried about contamination from the water, you could get a trip's worth supply of daily disposable lenses.
posted by coppermoss at 12:06 PM on June 29, 2017

Best answer: Are you concerned about the hygiene aspects of swimming in contacts? The way I have approached this is in the past when 'wild' swimming was to get daily disposables. Wear them to the lake/river/ocean, swim in them, then wash my hands thoroughly afterwards and pop in a fresh pair. I let my eyes water and 'air out' for five minutes between pairs. Yes, it's sort of a waste of a pair of lenses, but I feel confident that I haven't picked up an infection that I'm trapping against my eyeball.

I know that you usually wear the two-week kind, but perhaps you could ask your eye people for a single box of disposables for each eye. That usually gives you thirty pairs, enough to be a bit wasteful of them. Wear a pair to test them out before you go on vacation.
posted by DSime at 12:07 PM on June 29, 2017

Best answer: As far as I know, the largest risk of swimming with contact lenses is Acanthamoeba keratitis. The link should go to the section on the wiki regarding prevention of the condition. It's incredibly rare, but it's the primary risk.

I've been lax and worn contacts while swimming, but if you want the worst case scenario, there it is. Wearing goggles should help, as should properly removing contacts and disinfecting them. If you can time it right or have extra lenses, discard them immediately after using them while swimming and rinse your eyes with saline.
posted by mikeh at 12:16 PM on June 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

I swam for the first time with contacts and some toddler splashed me in the face and when I wiped my face my contact lens fell out. It was a fresh pair so I was pretty annoyed.

It was at the pool and also my eyes were fairly red afterward. Not sure the cause - pool water, dry eyes...

Maybe if you're used to it then it's ok but just be careful is all I'm saying.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 12:26 PM on June 29, 2017

Response by poster: Hmm, I had always thought that swimming with contact lenses in was a no-no. But the hivemind has convinced me it'll probably be OK. I'll get a pack of dailies just to be on the safe side and try splashing water in my face beforehand.
posted by neilb449 at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

I've been wearing contact lenses since I was 10. I'm about to turn 33. I have swum in pools, lakes, rivers, and oceans with them, with goggles and scuba masks and without. I've fallen into a river while whitewater rafting with my eyes wide open in surprise.

I also don't wash my hands every time I handle my contacts, re-use solution occasionally if I'm only away for a weekend, wear them longer than they're spec-ed for (on the advice of my optometrist), sleep in them from time to time, etc. I am very very comfortable with contacts, but I also started them when I was a not-entirely-responsible kid and I did alright.

So this is all to say that you have to try really hard to contract eye infections (unless you have any previous issues with eye trouble), and you have to work really hard for contacts to be a problem when you're swimming. Wearing goggles is definitely the easiest way to make it not an issue. So is wearing sunglasses, if you think you'll mostly have your head above water and people won't be assholes splashing you a lot intentionally - it'll be enough to just keep the occasional drops or splashes out of your eyes. Bring an extra pair just in case something happens - I agree it's more likely to happen when you've been splashed and you're wiping your eyes than it is when you're underwater or clearing a scuba mask or something - and if you don't already wear them in the shower or bath, start doing that to get used to it so you don't freak out every time a bit of water trickles down your forehead.
posted by olinerd at 12:45 PM on June 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

The only thing I have found is that swimming a lot does reduce their lifespan for me -- a monthly lasts 10-14 days of daily swimming, max. (They just get uncomfortable, I've never had an infection, but I have precious sensitive eyes that dislike everything.)
posted by jeather at 1:00 PM on June 29, 2017

Similar to olinerd, I have swum in contacts for 30+ years. The only time I've ever had an issue: last summer, while boating on a local lake, I lost a contact following a spectacular tubing crash - the tube whipped over the wake, launched and flipped, and I hit the water fast and face-first. Lost *one* contact, which made me antsy for the rest of the day, because I am nearly blind without vision correction. As it was a day outing, I hadn't brought any backups.

Since then, I've made the following changes for boating & swimming outings:
-- bring a spare pair of contacts, small bottle of lens solution, and a couple individually packaged wet-wipes, with me to boat or beach. Pack it all in a quart Zip-loc bag -- toss in the towel bag or cooler -- good to go!
-- stow a spare pair of glasses in the car, in case I lose contacts and need to drive home.
-- purchased and use a good pair of swim goggles (love my AquaSpheres!!) for tubing, wakeboarding, & water-skiing activities.
posted by Ardea alba at 1:28 PM on June 29, 2017

I've never had a problem swimming with contact lenses, but I did get an eye infection from a Hot Tub whilst wearing them.

All the advice above is just great though, goggles, bring a back up pair, don't rub your eyes in the water.... all good!
posted by JenThePro at 1:37 PM on June 29, 2017

Best answer: Ophthalmologist here.

I am not your doctor, and this is not medical advice. That said,

I strongly, strongly advise my patients not to swim in contact lenses.

I love Metafilter, but sometimes the armchair advice like, "I've slept and swum in my contacts for decades without issue" is not just misguided, it is dangerous.

I see patients all the time who have been practicing poor contact lens hygiene for decades before they ended up with a nasty infection that caused permanent vision loss in one eye. People who sleep or swim in their contacts increase their risk of a serious eye infection 6- to 10-fold. You can consider it a small risk if you want, but it's not a risk that I'd be willing to take, that's for sure.

I tell my patients never, ever to swim or sleep in their contact lenses - doesn't matter if they're extended wear. Basically, I tell my patients not to take their eyesight for granted.
posted by aquamvidam at 3:39 PM on June 29, 2017 [11 favorites]

My doctor just gives me two prescriptions (monthly and daily), and I wear the dailies when I know I'll be in water, especially salt water, which destroys my contacts like nothing else. Even if infections are still very rare, I'd rather not take extra chances with my eyes.
posted by ktkt at 3:42 PM on June 29, 2017

You are all mad. Get prescription goggles so you can see in the water and just take your damn contacts out before you swim and put them back in. It's a minor hassle but the eye infections are not worth it because they are not recoverable without major pain and cost and sometimes just not fixable.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:26 PM on June 29, 2017 [3 favorites]

I swim in my contacts all the time, too. I understand there's an increased risk of eye infection, but TBH I have gotten way more eye infections via teaching and working with the public in daily life than from swimming, whether pool, beach, or lake. I think that there isn't probably much good data on the number of safe/non-infecting contact-wearing swims vs. those that might have resulted in or contributed to infections. I wear disposables. On the risk scale of life, this does not register that high for me.

I am extremely nearsighted, and that plays a part in it - I really can't see to swim any reasonable distance, or avoid hazards, without augmentation. I know they make prescription goggles but I'm not about to spend my summer in goggles. YMMV. If you know the risks, you can evaluate them yourself.
posted by Miko at 8:02 AM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Yeah, my answer was a little slipshod in framing. While I've done these things, the risk I mentioned (and those others have) is huge. My admission was not an endorsement, only an admission. You could lose your vision. Don't swim in contacts.

If you want a real life case, and have wondered why musician Momus wears an eyepatch...
posted by mikeh at 6:52 PM on June 30, 2017

have wondered why musician Momus wears an eyepatch......

Although there's no indication it was related to swimming. The organism is "commonly found in water sources, such as tap water, well water, hot tubs, and soil and sewage systems."

Acanthamoeba eye infections in contact lens wearers are rare but serious, and they often start because of improper lens handling and poor hygiene.

And it is extremely rare, affecting 40 people a year according to Wikipedia, and preventable if lenses are disinfected between wearing. Just for perspective on that risk level issue.
posted by Miko at 5:22 AM on July 1, 2017