Sports: Is it ok to wear contact lenses during contact sports?

Contact lenses can actually provide you with better and wider peripheral vision

compared with spectacles, which may be a useful attribute to have when you are

enjoying your favourite sports.  It is preferable, however, to wear soft as opposed to

hard contact lenses (not available on this site) as the latter is often more prone to

dislodgement during rigorous exercise.

With contact sports like Rugby, Aussie Rules Football or Basketball, wearing

hard contact lenses increases your chance of eye injuries as they are more brittle

and could break to form sharp edges.  Soft contacts can be dislodged and lost

if there is hard physical contact with your eyes but are unlikely to result

in eye injuries.  You may wish to consider one-day disposable contacts for

these activities, which are inexpensive to replace with lower risk of

infection through daily renewal.  You may also wish to consider

wearing protective goggles for improved eye protection.

For water sports, contact lenses could also be dislodged under water if

your eyes are kept open.  Further, chlorine and salt water could alter the

material properties of the lenses so one-day disposable lenses with a

pair of goggles over them should be considered.  You should also

replace these lenses as soon as you can.  Alternatively, you can wear

prescription swimming goggles <Click Here> for greater convenience.

[Please note the above has been provided as general information only and must

not be used or relied upon as a substitute for medical advice from your doctor,

eyecare professional or other healthcare provider.  Our full Terms of Use can be

found here].