Swimming with Contact Lenses

I've also been swimming with contacts for years. My advice is to ensure that your goggles fit really well. Even a slow leak used to leave my eyes irritated, but no problems now with good-fitting googles.

I've been swimming (but not semi-seriously until the last 3 or 4 years) with soft contacts for 25+ years, and never have had a problem. And I wear my lenses for 2-3 weeks at a time, without any issues.

I started wearing contact lenses when I swim (and for other workouts like spinning, biking, running, and so on) and it's worked well for me. I also have to print my workouts in a very large bold font so I can see what I'm supposed to be doing. I wear the daily disposables but since I only wear them for a few hours a day, will use them for a week or more. I just rinse them and use fresh solution every time I take them out after workouts. I've recently discovered that I can manage by wearing only one lens, thus enabling me to see the pace clock and still be able to read normal type on my workout sheet.

I've been wearing contacts to swim (with goggles) for as long as I can remember. Same here. I usually try to keep an extra pair in my bag or my car, just in case I end up doing starts or something and lose my goggles and hence my contacts. I've lost goggles without losing contacts, too. (The trick is to close your eyes really fast :P ) I haven't had any negative experiences. In fact, my optometrist occasionally swims with our evening workout group, and, while he did admonish me against using my contacts for much longer than their nominal lifetime, he did not mention any risk factors associated with using them in the pool. Everyone is probably different, though - my eyes absolutely love my contact lenses and I never ever want to take them out. You might want to see if your eye guy can recommend a more pool-friendly brand, if such a thing exists. I had a pair of Speedo prescription goggles about ten years ago. They didn't actually match my prescription (I'm particularly nearsighted) but they were good enough to see the pace clock.

Wow... a lot of interesting responses here. Thanks all. Lenses aren't an issue during the swim so much as after I tend to feel that my eyes are mildly irritated as if I haven't worn goggles in the pool. It oculd be working in the aquatic environment causing or adding to this and not the swim per se. I think I'll do a midday rinse and see if that helps out. I wear my contacts while swimming. I've tried prescription goggles, but dislike them. I've had dry eye problems for years. Rinsing afterward seems to help. I also take flax seed supplements and restasis (prescribed by my doc) for dry eye, which seems to have helped. I also try to take my contacts off early in the evening (when I remember) (also suggested by my doc). Dump drops in eyes 4-5 x a day. Never go swimming immediately prior to a doctor's appt. I did that last time, and my doctor was absolutely horrified at how irritated my eyes looked. I was also at the end of a 2 week pair.

30 years & counting with last month's contacts for pool use. Yes rub with solution when you take them out to clean off as much junk as poss.

In high school I used to take them out before I swam, go blind the entire time (somehow manage ok even though I was pretty blind even then) and put them back in after we were done. I think this made sense since I had one pair for the year and losing one would have meant my parents would have been very upset. When I returned to swimming as an adult I was wearing the kind that got changed every 2 weeks so losing one was not such a big deal. I kept an old pair of glasses in my car just in case since I couldn't see well enough with only one to have driven home (I assumed I would be able to find the car but I'm not totally confident I would have managed even that with only one). I never needed them. I put eye drops in my eyes after swimming but I had very dry eyes all the time so I put drops in my eyes about 15 times a day anyway. In 2010 I started having issues and had to stop wearing them for a while. I went blind in the pool a couple times but then got optical goggles. October 2010 I got LASIK. Best decision EVER! My eyes are so much healthier and I no longer have to worry about contacts and swimming!

Wow... a lot of interesting responses here. Thanks all. Lenses aren't an issue during the swim so much as after I tend to feel that my eyes are mildly irritated as if I haven't worn goggles in the pool. It oculd be working in the aquatic environment causing or adding to this and not the swim per se. I think I'll do a midday rinse and see if that helps out.

I sure hope I never have to get glasses. :D

Same story from my eye doc. I had problems with contacts getting ruined when they got splashed with pool water. So for water volleyball games / pool parties I would wear sunglasses and shut my eyes if I ended up underwater. With goggles, no problems as long as goggles do not leak or fall off. My current lens is extended wear disposable and I keep a spare in my swim bag. Since I only wear one contact, getting it ruined means I am not legal to drive home. If we are going to practice block starts or at meets, I would tighten up the goggle strap a bit. There may be other considerations if your eyesight is extremely impaired -- I am able to navigate comfortably without correction, ymmv -- or if you are planning to do SCUBA or other deep diving. Not aware of any, just speculating.