800px-Woman_enjoys_a_swimming_poolThe Wall Street Journal recently published an article entitled ‘Does Chlorine Affect Your Eyes?’, which featured an interview with top optometrist Glenda Secor and tried to look at whether chlorine had any detrimental effects on the eyes swimmers.

However, the article didn’t really focus on chlorine, instead choosing to look at the contaminants that can still naturally exist in a pool and how swimmers can prevent contracting conditions in the water. That was all well and good, but we thought we’d take an in-depth look at chlorine and see whether it did affect swimmer’s eyes:

Why is chlorine in pools?

Pool owners use chlorine because it’s the most effective way of keeping it sanitary and ensuring that swimmers stay healthy. Chlorine reduces bacteria in the water and prevents viruses from spreading. In short, it’s essential if you want a healthy, attractive pool, but the effectiveness of the chlorine depends on when it was added to the water.

Is chlorine responsible for red, blurry eyes?

Many swimmers complain of contracting red, blurry eyes after they’ve been in a pool, particularly if their head is submerged repeatedly.

This is because eye human eye has a ‘tear film’ that sits in front of the cornea and effectively acts as a shield against bacteria. When eyes are completely submerged in chlorinated pool water, the tear film is washed away. Without this protective wall in front of the eye, it’s easier for some infections such as conjunctivitis (also known as pink eye) to develop.

Red, blurry eyes occur when the eye’s tear film drops away and the cornea is dehydrated by the chlorinated water. As you’d expect, the more time that an eye is submerged and exposed to the water, the more dehydrated it can become. As a result of this dehydration, many swimmers’ eyes turn red and irritable while vision can also become distorted and blurry.

Protect yourself

There’s no denying that if you spend plenty of time in a pool then you are going to suffer from uncomfortable red eyes from time to time. Therefore it’s well worth investing in a good pair of water-tight goggles to protect your eyes.

…But it’s not serious

When this happens to you, it’s important to remember that it’s a perfectly normal reaction and that symptoms will usually disappear in a matter of minutes and there is no evidence that swimming in regular chlorinated water has any long-term effects. Older swimmers may experience it taking a little longer to clear up, but the process can be speeded up by washing your eyes in clean tap water or lubricating eye drops.

If you do experience longer term irritation or blurriness, it’s probably not as a result of the chlorine and it’s recommended that you visit your doctor.

At Online Pool Chemicals we’re passionate about keeping pools safe and looking their very best. Find great prices on chlorine products for your pool online today.