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.

this was me. I suddenly lost my central vision in one eye due to myopic CNV. Which is one of the biggest causes of vision loss in western world. Make sure your optician is doing thorough tests that observe changes in the macular.

Thank you, I will. Good advice

Every time I swim with my contact lens I get the most horrific eye infection even with daily disposable lens. Inspite of wearing swimming goggles as well and removing the lens and discsrding them immediately after my swim.

My last two eye infections took months to clear up and I had to see several eye specialists. Now I'm so scared that I won't even shower or wash my face when I'm wearing my lens and I also diligently dry my hands before putting in my lens.

Don't risk it. Get a pair of prescription swimming goggles. It's annoying. I've got fairly high power and hate having to wear the swimming goggles while walking to the pool or the changing rooms but I definitely won't wear my lens anymore while swimming.

I swim a lot and wear my contact lenses but I also wear goggles. I have some prescription goggles that I bought from Amazon but they steam up because they are a bit rubbish.
I didn't even know that swimming in lenses was hazardous.

😱 Good lord! Is this amoeba thing relatively new? I swam and showered in my lenses all the time - sea, pool, river, home & abroad - for years. Became a couch potato almost 20 years ago, never heard about this. My optician only used to warn me about chlorine.

I used to, when I was young and a decent swimmer. But that was last century and I don’t think the risks were so well known. I swim in glasses now, which is fine for my leisurely pace and preference for backstroke. I wouldn’t risk my eyesight.

I recently got contact lenses and they were very strict about not wearing them
When swimming, something to do with bacteria. I've bought for my friend prescription googles at her request online they were under £20

Back in the 1980's when I started to wear lenses over 40 years ago now I was told then about the harmful bacteria that was in water and how it could affect my eyes, be it pool, shower or not drying hands properly. The Contact Lens Clinic were very specific about this, and for this reason I have never ever gone swimming (sea or pool) shower etc with lenses in. Never had any issues at all.

To the person (sorry cannot find your post now) who said they used water and a tablet to clean lenses, yes in the past you used a protein remover tablet with sterile water to clean lenses to remove protein deposit's (how things have move on).

To the OP and other posters who did not know this, its your call to either carry on wearing in the pool etc. people can only give advice or have personal knowledge of problems, but know the risks if anything does happen and take the chance with a nasty infection or worse.

Yes, I wear contacts swimming. I am -14. It is congenital myopia.

I know the risk of eye infections of amoebas and bacteria. It is very tiny even before all the steps I have taken that reduce the risk to almost zero.

• I wear disposable lenses plus a pair of goggles- the googles give me a headache so I like to be able to remove them and still see when sitting on the side or on the beach resting.
• I swim head up and avoid kids/splashing
• I take out the lenses, wear glasses for an hour or two and then put in new lenses after swimming.

Most of the cases of eye infections with sight loss come from wearing soft contact lenses that are not disposables. The bacteria or amoebas invade into the inner structure of the contact lenses so even if you put them in solution all night, you are still putting all that back in your eyes every day. In addition, regular contact lens solution doesn’t kill the amoebas so they are just multiplying away in the lens case when users think they are disinfecting their lenses.

When we swim with no contacts, we get bacteria and such in our eyes as well but our natural tears tend to wash them out before they get a toe hold. The contacts are the issue because they become the toe hold. So that is why I remove and throw away my contacts directly after swimming. If I get a big splash in the face and can feel it’s hit my eye, I’ll get out and take out the lenses and that’s me done swimming for a couple of hours.

I even do this for all water sports- kayaking, canoeing, sailing.
Edited to add they don’t make prescription goggles strong enough for my eyes so that isn’t an option I’m afraid.

You were lucky you didn't need a corneal graft!

OP - do not swim in a pool or river in contacts.

Never! I had the fear of god put into me by my optician too, I wear glasses in the pool, don’t care what I look like.
my friend had an ulcer once and never had pain like it. I’m nit taking chances.
my partner will wear them in the shower and swimming though!

I don't live in the UK and sometimes Mumsnet throws up examples of how differently countries approach some things.

I'm in my 50s, been wearing contacts almost daily since 17yo, had one infection (after overseas travel) requiring a specialist hospital visit, and no optician or other medical professional has ever cautioned me against swimming with my lenses in.

I wear my lenses while swimming, have always taken precautions to make sure they're not immersed in water or they'd float away, but I don't go above and beyond that. Other than trying not to get splashed in the face with pool water, nobody likes that, contacts or not!

I mean, surely, you want to listen to the professional that you paid to see over a load of Mumsnetters who by chance haven't had anything bad happen yet?

I was strictly told the times not to wear mine and have called it the 3s's. Swimming, showering and sweating (exercising as they called it).

Absolutely not. Scared of infections and them being washed away. I just wear glasses in the pool

Blimey, I have been wearing contacts for 32 yrs and have always swam and showered in them.
I used to love swimming underwater but of course now I refuse to put my face anywhere near, and the children know not to splash me.
I remember the tablet, but it was used with a solution when I first started wearing lenses-Oh the pain if I ever forgot to put the tablet in(usually after a night drinking!!) I have on occasion over the years slept in them and put them in water when I was away from home(ahem!!!)
I would never do the above now.
After reading this thread I am going to make the effort to not shower with them in-but how on earth do you shave,ect???I literally cannot see a thing without my lenses.
I will probably continue to swim in them as it is so rare that I do so, only on holiday really-and again how do you cope going from sun lounger to pool all day? without contacts I would never find my way back to the correct bed!!!

I was strictly told the times not to wear mine and have called it the 3s's. Swimming, showering and sweating (exercising as they called it).

First I’ve ever heard of not wearing lenses for exercise/sport, my optician has never said this in 20 years! I mean surely that’s why many people wear them, next we will have someone come on and say their optician told them not to wear them if it’s raining.

Exercise is fine but anything with water definitely isn't!!

Yes I know, it was the exercise comment that was ridiculous.

I got a parasite from swimming with contacts in the sea. Hospitalised, had to have eye drops every 15 minutes for 48 hours. Spent a week in hospital, off work for a month, eye severely scarred, was advised never to wear contacts again, but have now been advised I can wear them for short periods.

@Traceysgoingtobelivid sorry I was agreeing with you!

No worries! 🤗

No, I don’t take any risks with my eyesight. I’d hate to lose it!

Yes but I also wear goggles to avoid water getting in my eyes, but I don’t swim frequently (like once a year).