Eye Care Important When Swimming
Summer brings warm temperatures, outdoor barbecues and swimming in pools, oceans and lakes. While it’s a great exercise, swimming can also be hazardous to your eye health if precautions are not taken to protect your eyes. Lakes and rivers contain debris and oceans are full of harsh salt water and living organisms.
Swimming pools often contain high levels of chlorine or other chemicals. When your eyes are submerged in chlorinated pool water, the tear film that usually acts as a defensive shield for your cornea is washed away. This means that your eyes are no longer protected from dirt or bacteria that are not entirely eliminated by the treated pool water. According to the staff at Doctors for Visual Freedom in Chicago, Illinois, pink eye is one of the more common infections among swimmers.
Goggles are the logical choice when swimming, regardless of location. If you haven’t purchased swimming goggles in years, you may be surprised by the modern choices available now. You can get swimming goggles that are created with your vision correction prescription. There are anti-fog goggles, goggles with UV protection, mirrored goggles, and goggles for children. With so many options available, it doesn’t make sense to take a chance on leaving your eyes unprotected.
Don’t wear contacts while swimming, even if you are using goggles. An amoeba can get behind the lens. This can cause acanthamoebic keratitis, which develops when a certain type of amoeba gets trapped in the space between the cornea and the contact lens and begins to live there. Sometimes permanent vision damage can result.
While summer is a time to relax and have a good time, be sure to include basic vision protection as part of your fun in the sun planning.
