Contact Lenses and Water: Swimming, Showering and the Surf

Swimming with contact lenses is one of those habits that feels harmless because nothing goes wrong the first hundred times. You jump in at the local pool, open your eyes underwater, get out, and everything is fine. So you keep doing it. Most contact lens wearers we speak to have done it at some point, and plenty do it every week without thinking twice.

The advice from optometrists is consistent, though, and it is more emphatic than most people expect. Contact lenses and water should be kept apart. Not minimised. Kept apart. Here is why that guidance exists, and what to do instead if you spend a lot of your summer in the water.

Why water and contact lenses do not mix

A contact lens sits directly against the surface of your eye and holds whatever it touches in place. That is useful when what it is holding is a clean, sterile saline solution. It is a problem when the lens traps pool water, lake water, or tap water against your cornea for an extended period.

Water that is perfectly safe to swim in is not sterile. Pools, spas, rivers and the ocean all carry microorganisms, and a lens gives some of them a warm surface to settle on and time to do it. The result can range from mild irritation through to a serious corneal infection. Serious cases are rare, but they are difficult to treat and can affect vision permanently, which is why the profession takes such a firm line on it.

Chlorine does not solve this. Chlorinated water reduces some organisms but not all of them, and chlorine itself can strip the tear film that keeps a lens comfortable. That stinging, gritty feeling after a swim is your eye telling you something.

The shower counts as well

This is the part that surprises people. Tap water in Australia is safe to drink, so it is easy to assume it is safe to get in your eyes. Drinking water and eye-contact water are held to different standards, and organisms that pass harmlessly through your digestive system behave differently against a cornea.

Showering in lenses is a common habit for anyone who puts them in first thing in the morning. If you would rather not change your routine, the simple fix is to put your lenses in after you shower rather than before. It costs you nothing and removes the exposure entirely.

The same applies to rinsing or storing lenses in tap water, which should never be a substitute for proper solution, even in a pinch. Our guide on how to care for your contact lenses covers storage and cleaning in more detail.

What about swimming goggles

Well-fitted goggles reduce the exposure, and they are certainly better than swimming with nothing. They are not a seal, though. Goggles leak, they get knocked, and children in particular tend to lift them to clear water. Most optometrists treat goggles as a way of lowering risk rather than removing it.

If you do swim in lenses despite the guidance, dailies are the sensible choice, because you can dispose of the pair as soon as you are out of the water rather than putting them back in a case. That is harm reduction rather than a green light.

Better options if you are in the water often

For most people the answer is not a different lens, it is a different pair of eyewear for the pool and the beach.

• Prescription goggles. Available through optical suppliers, and worth asking your optometrist about if you swim laps regularly and need to see the clock.
• A pair of glasses for poolside. Take the lenses out, put your glasses on, and swim without correction. Most people manage a pool length perfectly well without sharp vision.
• Prescription sunglasses for the beach. More useful than they sound, since you spend far more time on the sand than in the surf. Ours start at $69 and every pair is glazed to your prescription.

If you already own frames you like, replacement lenses are also an option through our Lenses Only service, which can turn an old pair into a dedicated beach or poolside pair.

What to do if something feels wrong

Redness, pain, blurred vision, or sensitivity to light after swimming in lenses should not be waited out. Remove the lenses, keep them rather than binning them, and see an optometrist or a hospital emergency department promptly. Early treatment makes a substantial difference with eye infections, and an optometrist will want to see the lens.

Do not put the lenses back in to get through the day, and do not assume it will settle overnight.

The short version

• Keep lenses out of pools, spas, natural water and the shower.
• Put lenses in after showering rather than before.
• Never rinse or store lenses in tap water.
• Goggles lower the risk without removing it.
• Get any pain or redness looked at the same day.

None of this is meant to make contact lenses sound fragile. They are a well-understood medical device that millions of Australians wear safely every day. Water is simply the one situation where the guidance is clear cut, and it is an easy one to work around once you know.