When you’re a keen traveler, your eyesight is key to everything you do. Without great sight, you can’t possibly hope to read a map or enjoy the full scope of the sights you encounter on the road. Unfortunately, age and, incidentally, prolonged UV exposure can take their toll.
Luckily, contacts and glasses can see you enjoying every sight on your journeys regardless. UV glass lenses can even protect your eyes from further sun damage. But, there’s one part of your trip that might still prove problematic – the swimming pool (or sea!).
Swimming with blurred vision is disorienting and potentially dangerous, especially in unfamiliar seas. An inability to see will also seriously hinder your enjoyment. But, issues with your eyesight needn’t stop you from enjoying swimming next time you go away. Simply consider the following steps for swimming after sight loss.
# 1 – Understand Infection Risks
Glasses are an obvious no for anything other than dipping your toes, but did you know that contacts should also stay out of the water? While they might seem like a clever choice for easier swimming, getting your contact lenses wet can significantly increase your risks of infections, and issues including ulcers, scratches, and inflammation. In other words, wearing your contacts when you swim could lead to extreme discomfort, and further damage. This is true even if you’re simply splashed while dipping your legs into the pool, and means you should always remove your contacts before going anywhere near water.
# 2 – Invest in Prescription Goggles
If glasses and contacts are out of the question, then what are your other options? Prescription goggles can be a great addition to your swimwear collection. Simply make sure you get these from a trusted optometrist using your unique prescription before your trip. Then, you can enjoy everything from coral reefs in shallow waters, to deep-diving in your hotel swimming pool. While this may seem like an expensive choice, basic prescription goggles are available for a surprisingly small amount. Or, you could spend a little more and ensure goggles that can come all over the globe with you.
# 3 – Consider Laser Eye Surgery
Depending on how often you get away and dive into oceans worldwide, you might also find it worth considering laser eye treatment. This is a long-lasting option for improving your eyesight, which can help you to enjoy your trips a lot more in general. It can also mean prescription-free swimming that ensures you see all of the wonderful sights on offer, and can even use things like rental scuba diving masks and more without worry. You can find out about these benefits of laser treatment during a LASIK consultation. After your procedure, you’ll simply need to wait out a recovery period of around 2 weeks to one month. Then, you can enjoy spectacular sights during your swimming excursions at last.
Make sure you can always enjoy diving in at the deep end by taking care of your eyesight in these crucial ways.
