By Steve Roberts

Contact lenses for sport  worn only while sleeping can ensure that short-sighted swimmers avoid the risk of eye infections from bacteria and other micro-organisms according to a new Australian study recently published online in ‘Optometry and Vision Science'. For swimmers, any body of water - including chlorinated swimming pools - poses a risk of eye infections especially if wearing conventional daytime contact lenses because microscopic "bugs" can attach themselves to the lenses or get trapped under them, giving the bugs more time to cause problems. Even wearing swimming goggles may fail to stop infected water getting to the eyes of conventional contact lens wearers which is why many swimmers invest in expensive prescription goggles so they can leave their daytime contact lenses out.

Researchers in Australia evaluated the amount of bacterial colonisation on contact lenses worn by a sample of conventional daytime contact lens wearers who swam in an salt water pool while wearing their contact lenses. Unsurprisingly, the study data revealed that 70 percent of the group had more bacterial contamination of their contact lenses after swimming without goggles but even when swimming with goggles some element of bacterial infection was evident. The researchers concluded that wearing close-fitting goggles when swimming in contact lenses offered the best protection against bacterial contamination. However, short-sighted swimmers who wear the new overnight ortho-k corrective contact lenses for sport  during sleep enjoy clear natural vision once the lenses are removed each morning and can wear standard non-prescription swimming goggles with minimal infection risk.

As many scuba diving, snorkelling and swimming enthusiasts who wear conventional daytime contact lenses know, prescription masks and goggles can be very expensive. However, masks and goggles are essential to enjoy the benefits of open water activities since, when swimming or diving, objects appear larger and closer than they actually are because light behaves differently in water than in air. Masks and goggles work by providing a pocket of air that enables light rays to travel to and through the eyes in a more precisely focused way. So by switching to overnight contact lenses for sport , water sports participants can avoid the high cost of prescription masks and goggles and enjoy their sport without worrying about infection risks.

Check if you are suitable for ortho-k overnight contact lenses  for sport.