Can You Snorkel with Contacts? Safety Tips for Underwater Adventures

As a human, it is possible that you have once been curious about what the underwater world looks like; you can go for snorkeling. Watching the colorful living creatures as they go about their daily lives while you stay afloat can be quite entertaining, you know.

Now, let’s focus on contact lens wearer, are you afraid of snorkeling while having contact lenses on? Don’t panic because, yes, you can. However, you need to follow the important safety rules so you don’t hurt your eye health.

The Relationship Between Water and Contacts

Yes, you got the answer you wanted, but it doesn’t mean it’s totally safe. The reason is your contact lenses sit directly on your cornea so when water, especially if it’s salt water from the ocean or pools, enters your eyes while wearing them, serious problems can arise.

Now, you must be wondering why, right? We will break that down.

Eye Infection

Water itself is full of tiny germs, microorganisms, and bacteria; now imagine these harmful things get trapped between your contact lens and eye—very scary! They can cause eye infections like microbial keratitis that affect the cornea and not treating it properly can lead to vision loss or permanent scarring.

Dry Eyes and Irritation

When you wear contact lenses to snorkel, the water will wash away the natural tears and rid your eyes of moisture. As you previously knew, situations like this can cause dry eyes and irritation, making you feel a gritty sensation, discomfort, and redness.

Lenses Sticking or Falling Out

Freshwater or saltwater can change the position of your soft contact lenses and make them stick more tightly to your eyes or loosen and fall out, especially during mask flooding or opening your eyes underwater.

Absorption of Chemical

Pool snorkeling can expose your contact lenses to harsh chemicals, e.g., chlorine. When your eyes absorb them, severe eye irritation or lens damage can occur.

Best Contact Lens Option for Snorkeling

You still want to snorkel with contacts, right? the daily disposable lenses are the safest option to consider if you are that determined because of the following reasons:

Reduction in the Risk of Infection

Since you wear a fresh pair daily, you can easily throw it away and not wear it another day. This will reduce infection risk significantly compared to the other options, like monthly lenses.

Convenience

You don’t need to worry about cleaning or storing disposable lenses after your snorkel; just discard them.

Effect on Snorkeling on Other Types of Contact Lenses

Soft Contact Lenses

Your reusing soft lenses is where the concern lies. Improper cleansing and disinfecting of the lenses after the water exposure can put your eyes at a very high risk of infection.

Hard Lenses

These are not even recommended for snorkeling because they are smaller and float off your eyes easily if your mask gets flooded, which can lead to immediate vision loss in one eye.

Essential Safety Tips for Snorkeling with Contacts

I know you want to enjoy your snorkeling but you should make sure the mask fits well and has a tight seal around your face to prevent water from entering. How can you do this? It’s simple! Just place the mask on your face without putting the strap over your head and inhale gently through your face to check if the mask suctions to your face and stays in place to check if it’s a good fit. If air leaks in, you should try a different size or style.

When underwater without the mask, resist the urge to open your eyes underwater because it gives a free channel for water and germs to rush into your lenses. Irritation may come after the snorkeling; don’t rub your eyes because it can cause a corneal abrasion or introduce more germs to your eyes.

As you’ve learned previously, use lubricating eye drops before and after your snorkel for rehydration and to flush out any minor irritants. You should also remove your contact lenses immediately after you are done snorkeling. You can use a fresh pair and for reuse, clean and disinfect them thoroughly.

Go around with a spare pair of prescription lenses or glasses in case your lens becomes dislodged; you can just change them. You can also use prescription masks to ensure safety and clear vision while snorkeling without any risk. They are specially designed diving masks with prescription lenses built into them to eliminate water exposure risks. Although they come at a cost, it can be worthwhile if you snorkel frequently or avoid worrying about your eyes.

Scuba Diving

The same rule applies to scuba diving and most of the scuba dive instructors recommend wearing soft contact lenses with a diving mask for vision correction, safety, and clarity.

Attention Signs

Sadly, even with correct precautions, eye infections can still occur after your snorkeling, swimming, or scuba diving session. What to do? It’s best to watch out for some symptoms like eye pain, redness, light sensitivity, blurred or blurry vision, and excessive tearing. You must seek immediate medical help from an eye care professional

In Summary

Snorkeling while you wear contact lenses, especially the daily disposables, can be possible but make sure you do everything to minimize the risk of eye infection while wearing contacts. Understand what it takes to have it on during snorkeling or scuba diving, and listen to your diving instructor because your safety is a priority over convenience.

Don’t rely on the power of contact lenses too much; take your prescription glasses along, remain calm through the session, avoid a flooded mask, and try not to absorb harsh chemicals. Hard contacts are off limits when diving or doing any water activities.

Also, don’t keep your eyes open in water and avoid touching your eyes after swimming or diving. Keep on your mask and enjoy your diving experience.

Bibliography

https://www.contactsdirect.com/scuba-diving-snorkeling-in-contact-lenses

https://www.lens.com/eyestyle/lifestyle/diving-and-snorkeling-with-contact-lenses-what-you-need-to-know/?srsltid=AfmBOooxcKPMwZ4tmm3xvEnI0elfBeySAxq63h4mC2i7ehGhk1QhR6ZY

https://lancasterscuba.com/blogs/resources/how-to-snorkel-with-contact-lenses?srsltid=AfmBOor0FZEs4yC_aawNjAqiWKmq9-GN9gPxmpQKflZUBZZalzL6xwNC