On hot summer days, as the temperature continues to rise, more and more people choose to swim to beat the heat. However, many people experience some adverse symptoms after swimming, such as dry and pink eyes and, in severe cases, a stinging sensation. What is the reason for this?

Reasons for eye discomfort after swimming out of the water

Disinfectant in the pool

Most of the disinfectants used in swimming pools on the market now are aluminum chloride, sodium hypochlorite, and other chlorinated substances, which are irritating and can affect the eyes. In the water after, the eyes will appear slightly pink symptoms, generally do not need to treat, tens of minutes to a few hours later will disappear on their own.

Swimming pool pollution

Swimming pools are overloaded with harmful microorganisms (human sweat, urine, etc.) that trigger eye diseases. Most commonly acute conjunctivitis (i.e., pink eye), the most apparent symptom is eye congestion and redness, itchy eyes, and increased secretions.

Contact lenses

When wearing contact lenses while swimming, the corneal epithelial cells are deprived of oxygen, and the movement of the lenses can damage the corneal epithelium, causing the cells to die and fall off so that germs can invade the wound and cause infection.

Can eye drops really prevent?

Most eye drops inhibit and kill germs and do not prevent bacterial infections. However, they should not be refused if there are certain acute bacterial infections that your eye doctor believes should be used.

In addition, tears can also prevent germs, and this is because they contain two essential proteins, lysozyme and lactoferrin. Lysozyme kills bacteria; lactoferrin prevents bacteria from metabolizing and reproducing. So tears are the best natural antibacterial agent in our eyes.