Red Eyes After Swimming – Proven Ways to Safely Open Your Eyes Underwater
While it’s obvious that a good swimmer should be able to open their eyes underwater, it’s equally evident that contact between the eyes and water—whether in a natural body of water or a pool—is not neutral for eye health. Due to the chemical composition and various impurities in the water, this can result in irritation and temporary redness in the best-case scenario, or even infection in more severe cases. So how can you protect your eyes when using public pools?
Fortunately, the risks can be significantly minimized. The key is to swim with protective goggles and, above all, maintain proper hygiene. However, the second condition (for it to be effective) must be observed by all pool users—something you, of course, have no control over.
Body Hygiene Protects Against Eye Irritation in Pools
Red eyes after swimming are often blamed on "just the chlorinated water," but that’s not entirely true. While chlorine does disinfect pool water, the chemical reactions involved produce byproducts. The culprits behind skin and eye irritation after swimming are chloramines—compounds formed when chlorine combines with organic substances from the human body, such as urine or sweat.
During a single pool session, swimmers release an average of several dozen cubic centimeters of urine and, during intense training, even a decimeter of sweat into the water. Urea, therefore, becomes a dominant contaminant in public pools. This makes it particularly important to maintain proper hygiene before entering the pool and to use the restroom beforehand. Bacteria and other microorganisms that end up in the water are unfortunately introduced by the swimmers themselves. Thoroughly washing the entire body with soap and rinsing under a shower, as well as putting on clean swimwear just before entering the water, significantly helps minimize the level of irritating chloramines.
Ozonated Water Is Better Than Chlorinated Water Alone
To reduce the risk of red eyes after swimming, opt for pools where the water is ozonated. Ozonation is the second most common method of pool water disinfection, alongside chlorination. Its primary advantage is that it reduces the formation of chloramines, which irritate swimmers’ skin and eyes, compared to chlorinated water alone. Like chlorine, ozone also has bactericidal properties. It’s worth noting that pools with ozonated water (even when supplemented with chlorine, which is still necessary) are much safer for children, who are the most sensitive and most prone to various irritations.
Well-Fitted Goggles Protect Eyes While Swimming
Regardless of the two factors mentioned above (hygiene and water disinfection method), always use swimming goggles to protect your eyes when visiting a pool. Opening your eyes underwater becomes much safer this way. Goggles are now considered standard equipment for both young and adult swimmers. The key is selecting properly fitting goggles. To work effectively, they must fit snugly to the face and eyes, preventing water from leaking inside.
Additional Tips
If eye irritation occurs after swimming, remember not to rub your eyes, no matter how red, itchy, or irritated they feel. This applies both while still in the water and afterward. To soothe discomfort, you can rinse your eyes with saline solution, available at any pharmacy in convenient, small portions of a few milliliters. This should help reduce irritation. Avoid swimming with contact lenses, or if necessary, use disposable lenses and discard them immediately after leaving the pool.
