Are there any contact lenses you can swim in?

[IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads]

I've been shortsighted since my early teens. I was hoping to get lens replacement or laser surgery, it has r recently had a consultation with a surgeon who told me that I wasn't suitable for either. I won't say I'm not disappointed.

I used to swim most days, in a pool and outdoors. I'd love to be able to see when I swim. I have prescription goggles, many pairs over the years, but they all leak, steam up, get scratched ..... and I find the field of vision quite restricted.

Some my question is, are there any contact lenses you can swim in? I know there were always concerns about trapped water causing infections or lenses washing out, but I was wondering if contact lens technology might have changed in the last 20 years or so since I last wore them.

Thanks

Your not meant to sleep ir shower in them I recently got them.

Yep, this is what I do. Have been swimming 3x week in my daily disposables with good goggles for years now. I don't always bin them immediately afterwards either and have never had an issue.

I only swim once a week (I'm doing lessons) and switch my monthly contacts for daily disposables for the lesson. I take them out and use some eye drops when I finish my lesson.

Although lens technology has advanced tremendously over the last 20 years, it is still incredibly dangerous to get water anywhere near your lenses. If even a single droplet gets onto your lenses, it can cause eye infections such as acanthamoeba keratitis, which can be sight-threatening. This infection is caused by single-celled organisms called acanthamoeba which can be found in all types of water (fresh, distilled, lakes, pools etc). Most cases of this infection are in contact lens wearers.

If you wear two weekly or monthly/yearly lenses you should even be careful to dry your hands thoroughly after cleaning them and before handling your lenses, otherwise you risk transferring water from your damp hands to your lenses when you put them in. Always dry your hands thoroughly with a paper towel or a lint-free cloth to avoid transferring any fibres to your lenses when you insert them.

Some opticians advise wearing daily disposable contact lenses with very tight fitting, anti-fog/leakproof goggles. Once you are done swimming, you can remove your lenses and throw them away immediately. You cannot clean daily disposable lenses as they are intended for single use, so they would not be suitable for wearing after swimming because water may have come into contact with them.

This is what i do

I swim in mine, but they are daily disposables

No you still really shouldn't. As someone said the best (but not entirely safe) option is daily disposables that you discard immediately after swimming.

Having said that almost every time I have swum with contact lens (either daily disposables or a few times monthly ones) I got an eye infection. The last time I just had them in for a couple of hours and wore swimming goggles on top of them (but not all the time as I wasn't allowed in some sections of the pool) and the resultant eye infection didn't clear for months and required me to see a specialist.

I agree it's such a big pain though. I too use prescription goggles but find the view restricted and uncomfortable.