1. Community
  2. Eyes
  3. Eye Problems

After Swimming I Cannot Tolerate Contact Anymore Please Help!

Posted , 3 users are following.

robert40483
robert40483

Hi Everyone, 

I’m a recently turned 34 year old guy who has been wearing Acuvue Oasys contact lenses almost full time for over 13 years without any issues at all. Sometimes I even used to sleep in them. 

In January this year I started swimming in a chlorinated pool every 2-3 days. The first time I swam I carelessly kept my contacts in and some water got under my goggles. A few hours later my eyes began to hurt and I took my contacts out immediately. I realised that I should never have swam in them in the first place, and from that point onwards I always took my contacts out before swimming. 

However since that day, whenever I went swimming again my eyes would always start to hurt when I reinserted my contacts afterwards. This seemed to happen whether I inserted them immediately afterwards, hours or even days later. It didn’t seem to matter..pain and discomfort would follow. 

I have not been swimming at all in over a month; yet, the same problem persists whenever I try to wear contact lenses… Pain and discomfort after about 30 minutes that gradually gets worse.. It’s almost like a feeling of pressure that builds up the longer I wear them, but there seems to be no redness or visible irritation. 

Yesterday I had my eyes thoroughly examined by my optometrist (a new one) who informed me that my eyes are in good health but that they are very dry and that they must have been this way for a long time.. I’m not sure if this correct as as I said earlier, this problem only started a couple of months ago and I have never experienced any dry eye symptoms before.. I have never even used lubrication/dry eye drops before as my contacts were always comfortable enough as they were. I have also tried using a number of different brands and types of contacts including daily lenses but nothing seems to help. 

I feel as if somehow the chemicals in the pool have damaged my eyes as it seems just too much of a coincidence for me to go from wearing contacts very regularly to suddenly not being able to wear them for even an hour without discomfort. 

Does anyone have any thoughts on what has happened and if this problem can somehow be rectified? Would seeing an ophthalmologist be a good idea? The thought of never wearing contacts again is a bit depressing as I am so used to them and do not like how I look in glasses. 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • diannesk
    diannesk robert40483

    Posted

    Definitely should see an ophthalmologist who has more knowledge and testing equipment to analyze what may be wrong.

    As someone with dry eye syndrome, I know the feeling of needing eye drops. Not a big deal to use the drops.

     

  • juliana11
    juliana11 robert40483

    Posted

    Hi, I'm dealing with a similar situation in the fact that I may have to wear glasses too, I can't get used to bifocal contacts (I notice that the new material of contacts now are making people eyes dry, I'm hearing that a lot lately, which it's not good), distance contacts is all I know all my life, I'm very depressed about wearing glasses... (even though I know contacts is really bad for the eyes) I'm picking up the glasses today. Good luck to both of us 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

  • Guest
    Guest robert40483

    Posted

    Hi, I had a similar problem. I could no longer wear contact lenses ( 1 day accuvue moist). These contacts are supposed to be suited for people with dry eyes. But my eyes would get irritated within an hour of wearing them. 

    I had to start wearing glasses instead.

    The things I can recommend is eye drops (for example Clinitas) and warm compresses. Sometimes tear glands can get blocked. They are located near the outer upper corner of the eye. Take two cotton pads and repeatedly soak them in warm water and apply them to your closed eyes. 

    You could also talk to an ophthalmologist about having collagen plugs inserted into your tear ducts (inner corner of the eye). This prevents the tear ducts from draining too much liquid from your eyes.  

  • robert40483
    robert40483

    Posted

    Thanks for the replies everyone.. Curious if your problems started from swimming as well? I will make an appointment with an ophthalmologist.. Maybe my tear ducts are blocked or something who knows.. I'll also try using warm compresses thanks Dan! I hope we all managed to get this sorted as the freedom contact lenses give people is wonderful.

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.