Is it ok to swim in the ocean with contacts on?

[introverting]

Sorry if this has already been asked. I'm planning to use Genteal eye drops, would that help it?

[Raayvhen]

Contacts in water are generally a bad idea. If you're nearsighted like I am, you might want to try your luck without any corrective lenses. I see almost clearly underwater. It has to do with the refraction of the light I believe.

[Mermaid Wesley]

bad idea for several reasons, mostly because you will probably lose your contacts!

[malinghi]

I once asked my optometrist that, and he said it's extremely dangerous because it can dramatically increase the likelihood of getting an infection in your eye. I don't know how credible that information is but considering that contacts aren't doing any good underwater anyway and you're likely to lose them while swimming, there's really no reason to risk it. I just take them out before swimming.

Here is the previous thread on this topic:
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?1181-underwater-vision

[AptaMer]

http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/faq/swim-in-cls.htm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2191190/I-swam-contact-lenses--Im-blind-eye.html

[SIF]

Things also get stuck under them sometimes and those things, and the contacts themselves can scrape your eye and do permanent damage.

[Meronica]

Just don't use them. We all have pretty bad vision underwater anyway.


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[Theta]

In particular, please don't swim with contacts in in the Great Lakes (Lake Erie in particular.) One of my friends grew up in Buffalo and when she got contacts, her doctor told her to NEVER wear them in the water, because there's a particular bacteria that lives there that can get trapped between the eye and the lense, and it's really bad news.