Can You Swim With Contact Lenses?

You should never ever swim with your contact lenses in. 

Contact lenses absorb moisture and interact with whatever they’re exposed to. Specifically in water, bad bacteria can stick around and quickly cause infection and even permanent damage.

Let’s break down more about this.

Why Water and Contacts Don’t Mix

Contact lenses are designed to sit in your tear film and stay hydrated throughout the day. That’s what keeps them comfortable. Though it also means they don’t just interact with your natural tears; they take on moisture from whatever environment they’re in.

Your lenses are picking up everything in the water, like bacteria, microorganisms, and small particles you can’t see. In pools, you’re also dealing with chlorine and other chemicals layered in.

Normally, your eyes can clear things out pretty quickly through blinking and tear production. But once a contact lens is in place, it changes that.

Instead of things moving across your eye and being flushed away, they can get trapped between the lens and the surface of your eye. That contact point is where irritation and risk start to build.

What Actually Happens When Contacts Get Wet

Bacteria Exposure

Water, even when it looks clean, can carry bacteria. Your lenses can hold onto that bacteria and keep it sitting directly on your eye. 

There’s a specific infection tied to this called Acanthamoeba keratitis. It comes from organisms found in water and is one of the main reasons this comes up so often with contact lens wear.

Lens Changes Causing Irritation

Contacts are made to work with your natural tear film, not with pool water or tap water.

When they’re exposed to water, they can absorb some of it. They might swell a bit, shift, or feel tighter. It’s usually subtle, but enough to affect comfort.

A lot of the time, you don’t feel it immediately. It shows up later, when your eyes feel drier, more aware of the lenses, or just not as comfortable as they were earlier.

Chlorine

Chlorine adds another layer to this. When you’re wearing contacts, they can absorb some of that chlorine and hold onto it. So even after you’re out of the water, it’s still sitting in the lens against your eye.

That’s usually when people notice it. Not during the swim, but later.

Your eyes will most likely feel drier, slightly irritated, or like there’s a thin film over your vision.

What To Do If You Swim With Contacts In

We strongly recommend never swimming in your contact lenses, or exposing them to water of any kind. If it happens, the goal is then to limit how long your eyes stay exposed.

Take Them Out Right Away

As soon as you can, remove your contacts.

Don’t Reuse The Lenses

If they’re daily lenses, throw them away. If they’re reusable lenses, it’s still safer to discard them. Once they’ve been exposed to water, the harmful bacteria can have already absorbed into the lenses, and may not go away with regular cleaning solution.

Watch For Irritation

Pay attention to how your eyes feel afterward. If you notice redness, pain, sensitivity to light, or anything that feels off, reach out to an eye care professional right away.

FAQ

Can you open your eyes underwater with contacts?

It’s better not to bring your contact lenses into water at all. We strongly suggest never doing so. If you do bring your contact lenses into water, don’t open your eyes. Opening your eyes underwater increases how much water comes into contact with your lenses.

Can you shower with contacts?

No. Showering in contacts falls into the same category. Water exposure, even briefly, can introduce bacteria and affect how your lenses sit on your eye.

Are daily contacts safe for swimming?

No. They’re a better option than reusable lenses because you can throw them away right after, but they don’t remove the risk completely.