Can You Swim With Contacts? Risks and Safer Options

No. The FDA advises taking contact lenses out before you swim, and the CDC gives the same advice for showering. Pool, lake, ocean and tap water can all carry germs, including an ameba called Acanthamoeba that causes a rare but serious infection of the cornea, and water can make soft lenses swell and stick to your eye. Prescription goggles, or Ortho-K lenses worn overnight, are safer ways to see in the water. If you do swim in lenses, wear tight goggles, take the lenses out as soon as you're done, and throw them away or disinfect them overnight.

Key takeaways

No, take your lenses out before swimming or showering, since any water, including pool and tap water, can carry germs that cause serious eye infections.
Prescription goggles put your prescription in the goggle lenses, and Ortho-K lenses worn overnight let some people swim with nothing on the eye.
Redness, discharge, blurred vision or pain after swimming in lenses means leaving them out and getting a same-day exam, or an emergency room when we're closed.
If you suddenly lose vision in one or both eyes, even if it comes back, call 911.

Why can't you swim with contacts?

Water isn't sterile. The FDA says not to expose contact lenses to any water, whether tap, bottled, distilled, lake or ocean water, or to homemade saline, and warns that pools, hot tubs, lakes and the ocean carry bacteria that can cause eye infections.

Soft lenses react to water, too. It can make them change shape, swell and stick to the eye, which is uncomfortable and can scratch the cornea, the clear dome over the colored part of the eye. A scratch makes it easier for germs to get in.

That includes pools. The FDA warns of a risk of eye infection from bacteria in swimming pool water, hot tubs, lakes and the ocean.

What eye infection can you get from swimming with contacts?

Many kinds of germs in water can cause eye infections. A particularly dangerous one is Acanthamoeba, an ameba (a single-celled organism) that is commonly found in tap water, lake water, well water and other water sources. It causes Acanthamoeba keratitis, an infection of the cornea.

It's rare, and anyone can get it, but it's most common in people who wear contact lenses. Poor lens hygiene and wearing lenses while swimming, using a hot tub or showering are risk factors. When it does happen, it's often very painful and difficult to treat, sometimes requiring a year or more of treatment, and it can lead to the need for a corneal transplant, or to blindness.

Its symptoms can look like those of more common eye infections and can last for weeks or months:

Eye pain
Eye redness
Blurred vision
Sensitivity to light
A feeling that something is in your eye
Excessive tearing

One clue is pain that seems out of proportion to how the eye looks. The infection is treatable with prescription medicines, usually applied to the eye over months. Left untreated, it can cause severe pain and permanent vision loss. Our keratitis guide covers corneal infections in more detail.

Can you shower with contacts?

No. The CDC advises removing lenses before water activities such as showering or swimming. Acanthamoeba has been found in almost all water sources, from pools to hot tubs and showers.

Put your lenses in after you've showered and dried your hands and face. The AOA recommends not wearing lenses in a bathtub or hot tub at all, and if you do, keeping water from splashing into your eyes.

If shower water gets in your eyes while your lenses are in, handle it the way you would after a swim: take the lenses out and follow the steps below.

Can you wear contacts in a hot tub, lake or the ocean?

No. The AOA advises removing lenses before swimming or getting into a hot tub, and it lists swimming in lenses, especially in freshwater lakes and rivers, as a risk factor for Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Salt water doesn't make lenses safe. The ameba lives in soil and dust as well as fresh water and saltwater, and it can also be found in swimming pools and hot tubs.

If you're swimming with contacts anyway, how can you lower the risk?

The FDA, the CDC and the AOA all say to take lenses out before you swim. For swimmers who can't see well enough without them, daily disposables under sealed goggles are the fallback in our sports vision guide. These habits lower the risk:

Wear tight-fitting swim goggles, which limit how much water reaches your eyes.
Wear daily disposable lenses so you can throw them away after the swim.
Take the lenses out as soon as you're out of the water.
Throw them away, or clean and disinfect reusable lenses overnight before you wear them again.
Never use tap water on your lenses or your case, including for rinsing.

What should you do if you swam with your contacts in?

Take the lenses out as soon as possible.
If a lens feels stuck, put in a lubricating drop to loosen it, then remove it with clean, dry hands. If it won't come out, don't rub your eye: call us at 310-828-2010 and come straight in, since our doctors remove stuck lenses in the office, or go to an emergency room if the office is closed.
Throw daily lenses away. Clean and disinfect reusable lenses before you put them back in, or throw them away.
Switch to your glasses for the rest of the day if your eyes feel irritated.

Then watch for symptoms. If you notice redness, discharge, blurred vision or pain, leave your lenses out and see a doctor of optometry right away. Tell the doctor you swam in your lenses, and bring the lenses in their case, since they may help find the cause.

We see contact lens infections the same day during office hours, Monday 10 to 5 and Tuesday to Friday 8 to 5; call 310-828-2010. When the office is closed, go to an emergency room. The National Eye Institute lists intense eye pain, blurry vision, a change in vision and very red, watery eyes among the reasons to get help right away from an eye doctor or an emergency room. If you suddenly lose vision in one or both eyes, even if it comes back, call 911.

What are safer ways to see while you swim?

Prescription goggles have your prescription built into the goggle lenses, so nothing touches your eye. The CDC suggests them for people who swim or do water sports and want to see well without contact lenses. We fit prescription goggles in our optical.

Ortho-K uses specially designed lenses that you wear while you sleep. They temporarily change the curvature of the cornea, and some people can then go all day without glasses or contact lenses, which leaves nothing on your eyes in the pool or the surf. The lenses have to be worn every night, or on another prescribed schedule, to keep the effect. Adults use Ortho-K as well as children. Like any contact lens, Ortho-K lenses and their case must never be rinsed with tap water.

If you wear scleral lenses, the same rule applies: take them out before you swim, in a pool or in open water; our page on scleral lenses for sports covers the rest of the routine. A contact lens exam with our Los Angeles eye doctors is a good time to work out what you'll wear in the water.

Questions patients ask

Why are my eyes red after swimming?

Chloramines, irritants that form in pool water, can cause it. When chlorine combines with urine, sweat, dirt and makeup, it creates chloramines, and swimmers can end up with red, itchy eyes. If a pool smells of chlorine, you're probably smelling chloramines. Rinsing off for a minute before you swim helps keep them from forming. If you swam in contact lenses, take them out. If the redness comes with pain, discharge or blurred vision, call us right away for a same-day exam, or go to an emergency room if we're closed.

Is it safe to swim with pink eye?

No. If you have pink eye, the CDC advises staying out of swimming pools to help keep it from spreading to other people. If you wear contact lenses, keep them out until your eye doctor says it's fine to start again, and throw away the disposable lenses and cases you used while your eyes were infected. A red eye in a lens wearer needs a same-day exam, or an emergency room when we're closed, because keratitis can look identical to pink eye; our pink eye guide explains how long it stays contagious.

Can kids swim with contacts?

Kids follow the same rule as adults: lenses come out before swimming. Prescription goggles let a child see in the pool with nothing on the eye, and sport is a common reason families choose Ortho-K, which is worn only at night. If water does touch a child's lenses, take them out as soon as possible and throw them away or clean and disinfect them overnight.

Can you sleep in contacts after swimming?

No. To prevent Acanthamoeba keratitis, the AOA advises against sleeping in contact lenses unless your doctor prescribed it, and never after swimming. Take your lenses out as soon as you're out of the water. Throw daily lenses away, and clean and disinfect reusable ones before you wear them again. If you wear Ortho-K, ask us how to plan the night after a swim. If your eyes are red or painful the next morning, leave your lenses out and call us right away for a same-day exam, or go to an emergency room if we're closed.

Sources

Written by

Dr. Brandon Cohenmehr, OD

Specialty contact lenses, with a focus on Ortho-K, scleral lenses, and co-managing patients with keratoconus and other corneal disease. A graduate of SUNY College of Optometry.

About Dr. Brandon →

Can You Swim With Contacts? What to Know Before You Get In