Learning to swim in my forties with poor eyesight and contacts- tips

[Glasseschick]

This may seem like a stupid question but honestly not sure the answer. I can’t swim and I would like to learn, I am mid 40s. The reason I don’t swim is because I have really bad eyesight and wear contacts. If I were to start lessons so I just do it without being able to see? Do I wear contacts with the googles (I feel like that’s a no no) or can I get prescription googles? Any help
appreciated but I have a general fear of not being able to see

Get prescription goggles. They’re not that expensive and keep the water out of your eyes as well.

Prescription goggles readily available. Please don’t wear contacts- there is something rare but nasty that can damage your eyes.

When I had daily disposables I just wore goggles over the top and put a fresh pair in when I finished, but I have had prescription goggles too.

Prescription goggles are a fantastic- either your optician should do them or you can get generic ones off eBay that are close to your prescription, I get mine off eBay as I’m short sighted and get -4.0 these are close to my prescription and work really well! Good luck and enjoy learning!

Highly recommend these. A game changer, being able to see in the pool! Also, some anti-fog spray.

I used to swim in contacts. I didn't use goggles, as just tend to do breaststroke with my head out the water, but that's not a good idea for learning to swim, as you want to be flat in the water with your head in. I did have disposable contacts at the time, so no real worry about losing one, not that I ever did.

How bad is it? I’m a +10 in both eyes. It’s never hindered me, despite the blur. You can get prescription goggles. Contacts are a huge no.

Ps well done for learning- hope you enjoy it

Contacts in water is a no, personalised prescription goggles can be quite expensive but for around £20 you can get approximate off the shelf ones online. Won’t be perfect vision, but I have a -6 pair that give me good enough sight to avoid people and read the clock. Would be good enough to see an instructor too.

Daily disposables with goggles and chuck the contact lenses away after the swim. I take daily disposables on holiday for this reason because I like swimming. I've never actually tried prescription goggles. I used to love underwater swimming and happily open my eyes, but those days are long gone!

I used to hate not being able to see and would have to ascertain the way to the pool before I took my glasses off or contacts out. Hated not being able to see the clock on the wall or, in fact, anything. So I eventually started wearing daily disposible contacts (which I disliked as they are, or were then, so floppy) into the pool and was just really careful to sucker my goggles onto my face before I got in. If any water does get in , it can wash a contact out, or up between your eyeball and upper lid, but you can usually dig it out ok. This and staying over at people's houses or camping and having to twat about with cleaning fluid and the wee case was one of the reasons I got laser surgery.

Sorry 😞I should have said please don’t wear contacts in the pool, not for fear of losing them damage to eyes

Please do not listen to people advocating for the use of contacts whilst swimming. It is incredibly dangerous to do so because of the risks, as water can contain bacteria and parasites that may cause serious eye infections such as Acanthamoeba keratitis. Contact lenses absorb water quickly, trapping germs against the eye and increasing the risk of irritation, inflammation, and vision threatening eye infections. There are plenty of people online telling their stories of losing sight in an eye because of it.

I used to windsurf (proper high wind 4m wave type of thing) in contacts and think I only ever lost 2 lenses. I now use the diving boards at my local pool and have lost one lense, sometimes I do have to blink a lot and rub over my closed eyelid to relocate it after surfacing.

I was advised by the optician to use daily disposables and take them out as soon as I had finished, particularly with the windsurfing juse incase of any infection risks. Never had an infection.

Waves at the beach, especially unexpected ones, were a balls when wearing contacts. My usual method was see wave coming, squinch eyes tight shut in good time, let wave go over, stand up, carefully wipe all water away from face and back over hairline, cautiously open eyes, OH FUCK HERE COMES ANOTHER BIG ONE, repeat.

Hi @Glasseschick !
Firstly good for you for learning! Swimmings genuinely one of my favourite things in the world!

I’m a contact lense wearer and always wear my contacts when I swim but I do wear goggles so I can keep my eyes open , but it also stops them getting too much water in them. Goggles in general are far more comfortable if your doing any stroke other than breaststroke with your head up, and even then I’d opt to keep them on anyway as pool water can sting!

alternatively prescription goggles do exist although I’ve never used them

I will say that people will tell you there’s risk to wearing them in water (infection etc ) and I’m not here to deny that, HOWEVER , so very many people do wear them including professional swimmers, and are completely fine—- do as you wish with that information and make an informed decisionI generally opt to use daily disposable when I swim rather than my usual bi weekly as a precaution.

As previous posters have said it’s very dangerous to wear contacts in water even if wearing goggles - do please google it before it’s too late.

Indeed. You’re not just risking a normal eye infection. You’re risking your sight and it’s also horribly painful for a long time.

I just asked my best friend (an optician for 35 years) this question by text - I can’t repeat what she said but it was all in capitals and definitely a no 😄 She went on to say that for learning she really rates the Speedo prescription ones for £25 or so, and you don’t need snazzy optician ones unless your eyesight is very poor and you’re doing open water swimming.

Same situation and learned to swim in my 40's and have never looked back. Prescription goggles are brilliant. I would never wear contacts in the pool even with normal goggles over them but the prescription ones are fantastic.

I’ve got prescription goggles. Ideal.

How bad it is? -5, I just leave my glasses pool side (in a box on a shelf), you don't need to see much to swim at a pool.
For open water I have a neopren piece to secure my glasses on my face. It works (once I got rolled over twice by a wave, the water took a clip from my hair, but the glasses stayed)

I would go for prescription goggles 🏊

I just wear my glasses when swimming - yep they get wet and splashed but so much better than goggles !

Specsavers do reasonably priced prescription goggles, they can’t correct astigmatism but even with a plus 6 prescription I can see well enough in these for swimming.