Should you open your eyes underwater? An optometrist weighs in
For many people, the hot summer days are spent swimming at the pool. Even though the water is usually clear from the addition of chlorine, it doesn’t mean you should be looking underwater.
As Dr. Muriel Schornack explains, it could cause temporary damage to your vision.
“Chlorine is a pretty powerful disinfectant and can, in fact, cause some damage to the outer layer cells that protect the cornea,” says Schornack, a Mayo Clinic optometrist.
The occasional glance should be OK, but extended eye-opening underwater can cause damage.
“The eye becomes red, irritated. You might become photophobic, or sensitive to light. Your vision might blur a little bit, and your eyes are going to feel irritated or even, frankly, painful,” Schornack says.
Most of the time, those symptoms are uncomfortable but temporary. If you really want to look underwater, here’s a doctor-recommended tip.
“I’m a huge fan of swimming goggles for a couple of reasons. No. 1, you can protect the front surface of the eye. No. 2, a lot of folks … like to wear their contact lenses while they’re swimming. And if chlorine soaks into those lenses, now you’ve got a reservoir of chlorine on the surface of the eye that’s likely to do damage,” Schornack says.