do you wear contact lenses when you swim

[Simonandrod]

I swim most days and have done for years. I'm blind as a bat without contact lenses so I've always worn them when I swim and never gave it a second thought.
But the other day I went to the optician and they put the fear of god into me about this habit, saying I could end up blind.
However, surely most people with contacts don't faff about taking them out and putting them back in when they go swimming.
Just wondering how unreasonable it would be to ignore him and carry on.

Buy some Prescription swim goggles. Definitely don't swim with contacts in.

Yes. always swim in contacts but have daily ones so less risk of infection

I actually know someone who swam with contact lenses in and who got the gross eye eating amoeba thing.. they are fine. I still swim with contacts.

I do also wear dailies (they oxygenating ones) so less of a risk and only swim once in a blue moon.

Don't do it! I'm a contact lense wearer and nearly lost the sight in one eye due to acanthamoeba which was extreamly painful, left me in hospital for 5 days, 2 months off work and unable to see our of my left eye for 4 weeks. It was horrendous!

I don't wear contacts but can't see a thing without my glasses. I've used prescription goggles for years - they're brilliant.

Don't have contacts but wear prescription goggles for swimming. Makes a big difference.

There was quite a long thread about this recently:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5147843-question-for-long-time-contact-lens-wearers

Basically, listen to your optician.

My prescription is -9.5, I can't function without my contacts in so have worn them to do everything for the last 17 or so years

I do wear mine swimming (which I do infrequently) but wear disposables and throw them away immediately after getting out, putting my glasses on for at least 15 minutes before new contacts.

I once saw a woman in a campsite bathroom purposefully wet her fingers under the tap before putting her contacts in with wet hands. I have no idea how she thought that was good practice!

Just to add mine was caused by tap water which I assume would be cleaner than the average pool

I wear daily contacts but use prescription goggles to swim in.

Usually swim more or less first thing, so prescription goggles then contacts when I get out. If at lunchtime, I usually wear my glasses either before or after. Exceptionally, if I'm going out after work, for example, I'll put a second pair of contacts in, but that's just a handful of times a year.

From time to time, we just go for a cool off in our local lake before having drinks, in which case I put normal goggles on really tightly so no water can get in just the time of our dip - but always have spare contacts just in case my eyes get wet.

I'm really afraid of the eye-eating ameoba thing, as you can probably tell!

Yes, but mine are Gas Permeable, so less likely to pick up a bug than a soft lens and I wear swimming googles over the top, so no water gets in my eyes because if I lost a lens it would be expensive.

Yes, a friend of mine does this - says that she can't get them in if her fingers aren't wet but won't listen when I suggest using contact lens cleaning solution. Freaks me out so much!

I swim in mine but try not to get my head wet. If putting my head underwater, I wear goggles.

I swim in lenses and try not to get my head wet. Very high (low rather...) prescription. I then change my lenses soon after swimming. I wear dailies.

For sea swimming/surfing etc I have prescription goggles, but they are a faff. I feel like an idiot wearing them when I get out of the water, so I have to trudge back to our spot either blind or looking like a numpty.

Yes but dailies and always wear googles.

This is why I can’t go swimming. If I don’t wear glasses or contacts I can barely see. Even wearing contacts and goggles, water gets in my eyes and I find it difficult. If I don’t wear contacts I just can’t go, I can’t see f all. I had perscription goggles before and I just didn’t think they were that good. My perscription is very strong with a toric lense and I’m not sure if they would even do them.

Yes I wear mine in the pool (when taking kids swimming) but my kids & nephews know not to splash me and I am very careful, don’t tend to dunk my head and try to keep my head out of the water as much as Possible. Have worn contacts
for 30 odd years and not had many issues after swimming.

My optician is evangelical about never getting any water on or near your contact lenses be it swimming, showering, hair washing, etc. She puts the fear of God in me everytime I go and I stick to the rules but it's easy for me as I'm at the point where I can actually manage without lenses for these activities. My DH however can't see without them so much more difficult for him but he manages.

No, listen to the opticians! Prescription goggles are cheap too.

I do, but wear goggles, have daily lenses and switch them for a new pair when i get home. Minimises the risk, although there still is one. But most things in life come with some risk, so it's just working out what your accepted level is. I used to wear prescription goggles, but my sight is so bad that i would have to wear them walking from the changing rooms, going to the loo, around the poolside, and i just found it too annoying and felt too weird.

I shower and swim in mine. But they're gas permeables.

It's one of the worst things you can do with contact lens - the worst actually. There is usually 2 or 3 newspapers articles a year where someone has swam or showered in contact lens and then ends up partially blind - Google the treatment - it's supposed to be horrendously painful and involves scraping the surface of your eyeball every couple of hours 24 hours per day for several weeks and even then it may not save your sight

For just supervising children while in the pool or doing breast stroke without putting your face in the water, I've found just wearing normal glasses to be ok. Much better than prescription goggles