swimming with contact lenses

Yes, IMMoo was a clobber fest.

I'm very sorry. I have nothing of any use to add. I'll be on my way now.

I swim in my contacts.  They're soft.  Regular goggles are no problem.  The biggest danger would be losing your goggles and having the lens wash out of your eye, although this has never happened to me.

I don't always wear soft contacts when I swim, but when I do I also have not had any problems with regular goggles.

I wear contacts while swimming in a pool, OWS, and competition.

Make sure the goggles fit well and seal against your face. I utilize Aqua Sphere as they have a larger sealing surface than most goggles. The smaller style goggles don't seal well and leak; water and contacts don't mix well. I found this out during my first OWS and almost lost a contact; went to store the same day and purchased a larger set of goggles.

After pool swims & OWS, I remove my contacts and clean them to make sure any gunk is removed and that no chlorine / gunk is trapped.

As for the contacts, I would recommend disposables. I don't think contacts would hold up well over a long period of time. I change the contacts out monthly and may go with a daily disposable in the future.

I would discuss your plans and concerns with your Optometrist / Contact Specialist prior to contact use while swimming.

Hope this was helpful

-EWJ

See page two of the attached thread link. The first page is about swimming eye irritation from chlorine but on the second page there is a discussion about the safety of swimming with contacts, a subject near and dear to me. I am a Wills Eye Fellowship trained Cornea and Refractive surgeon and have seen bad things in people who swim with contacts in. Not common, but not as rare as you would think.

You can get really cheap prescription goggles (~$30) that work great, at least for me and I am a -7.0.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

Just my thoughts ont he subject to a new person on BT. By the way, welcome to BT!

I too wear soft contact lenses and have had no problem with regular swimming goggles.


-Kenrick

Add me to the list of people who wear contacts, and has never had a problem.

I swim with soft contacts and regular goggles.  Pool chemicals seem to break down the contacts more quickly, so I switched to daily disposable contacts on swim days.  Eye doctor also thought this was a good idea because many microbes etc can lurk in the pool water even with the chlorine.

Joe

Every time I swim, it is with contacts.  Not one problem.  I have even opened my eyes under water without goggles and had no problem and my contacts stayed put.  I don't recommend opening your eyes without goggles, but I did it and was fine.

I swam with contacts and ended up with eye infections (clearly my goggles weren't leak-proof.) I was so nearsighted there was no way I could swim without contacts, so that's when I decided to get LASIK eye surgery. Best money I ever spent.

I swim with contacts and goggle with no problems. 

If you wore prescription goggles during a triathlon, what do you do when you get out of the water?  What do you wear on the bike and run?

Always swim with contacts + goggles in training, racing...pool, lake, ocean. Never had a problem.

I race in disposable contacts. I've never lost one yet, though during the 2009 Muskoka 70.3 my left goggle failed at the start and I had to swim almost 2km with one eye closed to keep the lens from washing out.

It my transition bag I keep a spare set of lenses and a locker mirror, just in case...

I'm a user as well, always keep a spare set in T1 just in case I need a replacement. Last Tri my left eye filled with water in my google, lens stayed in place,

I'm in hybrid mode right now (one contact in my left eye and my right eye had laser surgery) and when I swam in my first Tri a couple weeks ago, water leaked into my goggles and dislodged my contact. I was forced to close that eye and swim with the other open. My goggles then fogged up, I couldn't see where I was going, I went off course, it wasn't pretty. For almost 1/2 the swim I kept rolling my eyes trying to get my contact to 'catch' so I could see but I was unsuccessful. It made for a miserable swim.

I swim with contacts too - no problems.  Like others have said, leaky goggles are usually the only potential problem.  I also bring a spare pair & keep at T1 just in case something happens.

another soft contact wearer here.  When I swim I like to get my contacts wet first.  Just a tiny bit and blink a little bit.  That water "glues" them to your eyeballs so that they don't come out easily, or get dislodged later.

I wear hard (gas permeable lenses) I've had no issues in races. I've had a couple leaking issues during long training swims. I practice flipping to my back draining and resealing my goggles. I do keep a spare pair in transition just in case.

Yet another soft, disposable contact lens wearer. I've never had a problem and I tempt fate by not having spare lenses in transition during races.

I wear "Swedish" goggles during pool training that don't have a gasket or seal. The gasket-types always seemed to leak when I wore them. In open water I wear a pair of BlueSeventy Hydra goggles & I've been happy with them.

On those days when I do wear glasses, I have a pair of prescription goggles I got from swimoutlet.com

I like the Lasik idea, but I'm an ex-CPA and I keep getting wrapped up in the cost/benefit analysis....

ETA: details about pool vs. open water goggles

Edited by oldntrin 2010-09-24 9:35 AM

I swam competitively for years with contacts and now triathlons with soft and I've never had a problem. Lost one lens in 25+ years.

Yes, infection can be a problem, but about as much problem as swimming with a cut or scrape.

John