Contact lenses for water sports

The most complicated is to choose the prescription contact lenses for water sports. In these cases it is necessary to take into account many circumstances, to consider the character of the particular sport, the experience of the sportsmen with contact lenses, their demands, and the length of usage in the water. 

Contact lenses for swimmers

The easiest choice is for short-distance swimmers, who generally use swimm glasses which protect the eye. They can use the same contacts as during the day.

With long-distance swimmers we must choose prescription contact lenses with highest quality because the lenses can´t be taken out in case of some difficulties and also when using the protective swim glasses, a microclima with lower oxygen supply is formed. The best for these swimmers is to use one-day lenses.

Contacts for water poloists, divers and aquabells

With water poloists, divers and aquabells there is a greater risk of the lenses to wash out of the eye because of the character of the performance. In addition, water with unwanted chemical substances is getting into the lens. These substances can remain in the lense for quite a long time and they can make the wearing of the lenses very unpleasant and also shorten the lifetime of the lense. For these sports it is not recommended to wear contacts with high water content and bigger middle thickness.

Under the influence of water environment we can observe instability of sight with all contacts with high water content. For water sports it is better to use tighter contact lenses, but they have to be designed for sport only and for short-term use.

When using prescription contact lenses in water, we recommend to squirt a bit of water into the eye before going swimming, close the eye, rub it gently, which adjusts the lacrimal coating. This causes the lense to sit better in the eye and lowers the risk of it to be washed out.

To fit prescription contacts for sport is not easy and each sportsman, who is a wearer of contact lenses should seek out an experienced optometrist. Under good guidance we can then fully utilise the features and characteristics of contact lenses.