How to ensure proper eye care while swimming?

Sighstavers India, June 2014
eye care while swimming

Out of the various organs in the body the eye is considered to be one of the most delicate and sensitive organs. Owing to its subtle nature, eye injuries can happen at any time and this is why proper eye care is a must at all times. For instance, if a little finger touches the surface of the eye, you can experience irritation and would want to start rubbing your eyes. This is why it is highly recommended to wear proper eye protection gear whether at work or at play. This would ensure adequate protection to the eyes with minimum chances of any injury.

You would have noticed that lumberjacks usually wear eye protection all day long to protect their eyes from dust, dirt and sharp wooden particles that could fly into their eyes while cutting trees. Similarly, lifeguards who spend most of their time sitting outside besides the swimming pool watching and observing people quite often wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from harmful UV rays from the sun.

Protective eye gear is also a must when we go swimming. Most people especially children enjoy taking a dip in the swimming pool in the warm season and to ensure adequate eye care, you should ensure that they wear proper eye protection goggles. This would also ascertain that they can see clearly while in the water and the harmful chlorine to keep the water disinfected would not harm their eyes in any way possible.

Protective eyewear can often be seen on the faces of swimmers and this is most certainly a wise move as you have lesser chances of allowing harmful chemicals and germs to harm your eyes. Eyewear allows you to see well while you dive to certain depths and this is why it is an essential part of any swim wear.

While swimming, yet another concern that most people have when it comes to proper eye care is contact lenses. Their concern is most valid as chlorinated water can cause irritation to the eyes and can also affect the lenses. Water contamination is nothing new and can easily contaminate contact lenses posing a serious threat to the eyes as well. People who wear contact lenses while swimming in the pool often experience discomfort and fear of losing their lenses. However, removal of contact lenses while swimming is also not advisable. This is because you may experience trouble in viewing objects clearly. As an alternative, there are special swimming goggles available with a wide range of power to suit most people. This is best for your eye care and also ensures your eyes receive all the protection they need.

Read more about our work

What we do
Sightsavers blog

Food for Eyes

How often have we been randomly advised to have a fair amount of vegetables for better eyesight? But is that going to be sufficient for maintaining healthy eyes? Let’s find out!

Ritika Rastogi, July 2018
Sightsavers blog

Smog Not Just Affects your Lungs, But Can Harm Your Eyes Too

Seeing is believing and what you get to see these days is no hogwash...

Ritika Rastogi, November 2016
Sightsavers blog

Ensuring Proper Eye Care - Avoiding “Mascary” Situations with Makeup

We’ve all done it at one time or another, when applying mascara we get a little too close to our eyeballs with the application tip and the result is a teary, black mess.

Ritika Rastogi, September 2016