How To Keep Your Kids’ Eyes Safe At The Pool This Summer

While swimming pools offer fun and exercise, it's crucial to be mindful of the potential hazards of uncontrolled play in the pool or around other large bodies of water. Ensuring your kids' eye health and a safe swimming experience is essential to keep the summer fun going all season long.

You can mitigate these risks by encouraging proper eye protection, maintaining proper pool maintenance, and supervising children. Although we’re focusing on kids, many of these dangers and precautions apply to people of all ages.

Dangers Posed To Eye Health At The Pool

It’s hard to avoid harm if you don't know what specific dangers you need to be vigilant about. When it comes to playing at the pool, here are a few key risks to keep an eye out for:

• Chlorine Irritation: Chlorine is often used to disinfect pool water. However, prolonged exposure to chlorine can irritate the eyes, causing redness, itching, burning, and discomfort, especially if the pool has excessive chlorine levels.
• Contaminants: Pool water may contain contaminants like bacteria, algae, and other microorganisms. Exposure to these can lead to eye infections and inflammation.
• UV Exposure: Prolonged exposure to sunlight while swimming increases the risk of eye damage from UV radiation, which can result in conditions such as photokeratitis (often referred to as "sunburn of the eye").
• Accidental Injury: In crowded or unsupervised pools, accidental collisions or contact with objects can happen, leading to eye injuries like scratches, abrasions, or blunt trauma.

If you frequently visit public pools, some of these factors might be beyond your control, like monitoring the chemical balance and cleanliness of the pool water. However, if you own a pool, one of the biggest steps you can take to protect your family’s eyes is to practice proper pool maintenance and keep chemical and pH levels balanced.

Goggles Protect Your Kid’s Eyes Without Stopping The Fun

The good news is that even though there’s a constant risk of eye irritation from pools, prevention is relatively straightforward. The best way to protect your kid’s eyes at the pool is to invest in a pair of well-fitted swim goggles. Just like any safety gear, you’ll want to carefully select lens and frame materials based on the activities you plan to engage in. Our advice for getting your kid to wear swim or sports glasses to prevent injuries is the same as helping them adjust to regular glasses:

• Get a pair that fits snugly and won’t move around when they're active.
• Let them help choose the color they like.
• Make it part of their routine when they get ready.

Swim goggles can help prevent irritation or infection from chlorine, debris, and bacteria while also providing a physical barrier against blunt trauma from stray elbows or feet during play. If the pool you frequent is outdoors, make sure to pick out swim goggles with UVA/UVB and polarized protection too!

Other Ways To Maintain Eye Safety

Goggles aren’t the only way to help protect eye safety while at the pool or other swimming spots this summer.

For kids with longer hair, wearing swim caps can prevent hair from getting into their eyes, which is another way contaminants can cause irritation. It’s still important to use swim goggles, but adding a swim cap can help keep hair out of the eyes if the goggles slip off.

Staying hydrated is always beneficial for your eye health. Hydration keeps your eyes naturally moist and maintains the tear film, a thin layer of liquid that covers the surface of the eye. The tear film is vital for keeping the eyes moist, lubricated, and protected from irritants.

Finally, get in the habit of rinsing off after swimming. Rinsing helps remove chemicals from the skin and hair, reducing the risk of irritation, dryness, and contamination of the eyes.

What To Do If You Notice Eye Irritation Or Injury

If chlorine water gets into the eye, it’s essential to act quickly to minimize irritation and potential damage. Immediately rinse the affected eye with clean, lukewarm water. Use a gentle stream of water from a faucet, shower, or eyewash station to flush out the chlorine. Tilt the head to the side with the affected eye facing downward to help the water flow out.

It’s not recommended to wear contact lenses while swimming because they can increase the risk of infections, which could be severe if you’re swimming in improperly chlorinated water or natural bodies of water that may harbor bacteria and other harmful substances.

Always assume an injury to the eye is severe. Children often find it challenging to describe exactly what happened or how they feel. If you notice any of the following or suspect trauma may have occurred, seek an appointment with an eye doctor promptly.

• Redness or swelling
• Excessive tearing or visible discharge
• Eye pain or headaches
• Muscle spasms or difficulty focusing
• Any visible cut on or near the eye

Asheville Vision And Wellness Is Here To Help

By taking proactive steps regarding your child's eye health from infancy through their teenage years, you can greatly contribute to their overall visual well-being. Regular eye exams, promoting healthy habits, protecting their eyes, maintaining a balanced diet, and paying attention to warning signs are key steps in safeguarding their precious gift of sight.

Prioritize your child's eye health, and they will enjoy clear vision and healthy eyes throughout their lives. Remember, prevention and early intervention are the foundations of long-term eye care success.

At Asheville Vision and Wellness, we understand the importance of proactive eye care for your children. We are committed to providing comprehensive eye care services and empowering parents with the knowledge and tools needed to ensure their children’s eye health from infancy to adolescence.

If you’d like to help your child maintain their eye health and vision, we’d love to speak with you further. Contact our team today for more information about Asheville Vision and Wellness’ pediatric eye care.