Swim goggles can be uncomfortable or have a slightly deformed rubber so that they can't be used by casual swimmers. Keeping your eyes open in water can cause irritation of the mucous membranes (eyes, nose). However, this technique is very important because it is often needed. Adapting to the environment and the distortion of vision underwater is the key to staying underwater long enough, and it all starts with opening your eyes underwater.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Workout at Home
Step 1. Go to the bathroom and fill the sink with water
It's a good idea to start with tap water because it's safer than pool, open water, or sea water. The water should be deep enough so that at least half of your face can be submerged. Avoid shocking the temperature of the water or scalding the skin to ease the exercise process.
Step 2. Enter your face with your eyes closed
Let your face adjust to the temperature of the water and make sure you feel comfortable and calm when you're in the water. If your nose is irritated at this point, you should stop because your eyes tend to be more easily irritated by chlorine or halogen based cleaning products.
Step 3. Immerse yourself in the tub
Do the exercise to keep your eyes open in the water as long as you can hold your breath. The water should be moderate to cold, as in the previous pool or sink. Keep practicing until you can handle the irritation when your eyes are open in the water.
Part 2 of 2: Opening Your Eyes When Swimming
Step 1. Find a water source with minimal chemicals
Practice swimming in pools that use non-chlorine based cleaners or purified water. While chlorine is not necessarily the cause of eye irritation or corneal damage, this increased activity is due to the abundance of cleansers used in swimming pools. It's best to avoid large swimming pools as they are likely to use hypochlorite or elemental chlorine to maintain water quality.
Step 2. Dive in and open your eyes
If you're in pure water, you should feel little irritation, but treated water or seawater will have a lot of irritants. Even if your eyes and corneas are irritated, a decrease in eye acuity is rare if you don't have a lot of exercise time.
Step 3. Add eye opening practice time
Pay attention to the level of eye irritation or fatigue when swimming until you can open your eyes as long as you can hold your breath. Focus on increasing your eye opening time and stay focused underwater at all times. Avoid deep or dangerous areas if you are not a strong swimmer.
Step 4. Practice keeping your eyes open and seeing underwater
It's a good idea to split the workout into sessions to minimize the risk of irritation if you're in treated pools or seawater, although it doesn't take much time for your eyes to get used to it. We recommend that you practice in several water sources, which vary in visibility and color. Avoid unclean or stagnant water when exercising, small lakes and ponds are at risk of transmitting waterborne infections.
- You will need additional practice to parse visual information in water accurately. Practice your estimating skills with objects at a certain depth or distance, and estimate how long it will take to reach those objects.
- If you dive, avoid going too deep without proper gear. Changes in pressure during diving can cause capillaries to burst easily and damage the ear. Make sure you adjust the water pressure to your diving comfort.
Tips
- If you're training in your own pool, consider purchasing a low-chlorine or chlorine-free pool cleaner to minimize irritation and the risk of corneal damage.
- It is always recommended to wear goggles when swimming in treated pools or seawater to reduce the risk of corneal damage and eye irritation. Although swimming pools using chlorine cleaners do not directly reduce the eyesight of swimmers, the side effects of cleaning products applied to the water such as pH or osmolarity have been shown to irritate mucous membranes (eyes, nose) and cornea.
Warning
- Avoid swimming or opening your eyes in stagnant or untreated pools. The risk of infection is high when you expose your mucous membranes to untreated water and are inhabited by microbes that live in the water.
- Avoid chlorinated pools, especially if you have breathing problems. For example, ambient chlorine gas concentrations have been reported to be associated with breathing problems in swimmers.
