Can You Wear Contacts While Swimming?

If you keep in your contacts while swimming, you'll want to rethink that decision. It's a bad idea to wear contact lenses when there is any chance that water will get on them----that goes for sitting in a hot tub or taking a shower as well. A few moments to remove your lenses can save you a lot of pain and money----and even prevent blindness associated with a water-loving infection carrier.

Culprit

• Acanthamoeba, a microscopic organism found in soil and water, is the reason you can't wear your contacts around water. This type of amoeba can cause what's called amebic keratitis (AK), a painful infection that may damage or destroy eyesight, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Risks

• Acanthamoeba loves the water, so you're likely to find it in rivers, pools, tubs and even during flooding, when standing water can harbor these organisms, according to the American Optometric Association. Take out your contacts or wear goggles that don't allow your lenses to come in contact with water if you participate in any water-related activities.

Frequency

• The CDC reported investigating more than 100 cases of AK annually in recent years, so you'd be among the rare few to get the condition----but the incidents of AK are on the rise. Nearly 90 percent of AK cases have been found in contact lens users, and increases over time have paralleled increased use of contact lenses.

Symptoms

• If you have AK, you'll definitely know it. The AOA reports your eye will be red, swollen, tear up easily and be extremely sensitive to light. You'll also feel like there is a foreign object in your eye, when nothing is present. Only your doctor will be able to screen to see if your symptoms are AK-related or a corneal ulcer unrelated to this microorganism.

Treatment

• AK is known to be a feisty creature. Not only is it resistant to contact lens solutions, but it is extremely resistant to treatment. Treatment with a combination of drugs is intensive during the first month, and tapers in the following six to 12 months, depending on how the patient responds, according to drug company Merck. If left untreated, or if treatment fails, you could end up losing some, if not all of your vision, in the impacted area as the amoeba destroys the cornea.