Parental guidance: Don't swim with lenses

Can my daughter swim in a pool while wearing contact lenses, or should she take them out first?

Precautions regarding contact lenses and swimming pools apply to children and adults alike, says Dr. Steven Rubin, chief of pediatric ophthalmology at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Health System.

Wearing contacts in a pool is generally not a good idea for two reasons, Rubin says.

One, the pool water can loosen the contact and wash it out of the eye, he says. While people might have a chance of locating a contact lens lost on a floor, for instance, finding it in the pool is hopeless, he says. "If you lose it in the pool, it's gone. It just disappears into the water," Rubin says.

The other issue is that, despite chlorination, pools can carry a pathogen called Acanthamoeba, which can cause a potentially blinding infection, Rubin says. "Acanthamoeba infection is very, very difficult to battle," he says. Contact users might remember that in 2007, a contact lens solution product was recalled after a number of people contracted the infection in the month after using it.

Make your daughter leave the contacts out if she's planning to swim, Rubin says. Keep the glasses poolside instead, even if she pleads that she'll look nerdy. "Kids still have parents, and they're the ones who call the shots about this," Rubin says.

Because of these kinds of hygiene issues, Rubin recommends that parents wait until their children are at least 12 or 13 to allow them to use contact lenses.