Swimming and sport with glasses: prescription goggles, sports frames and eye protection for children
The swimming lesson and the badminton team both start soon, and the glasses cannot go into the pool or take a ball. What the guidance says about prescription goggles, sports frames and the injuries that need the same day.
Go the same day if, after a blow or in the pool, your child…
- Children who wear glasses can swim in prescription goggles. The CDC says they may be a good option for swimmers who worry about seeing without lenses.
- Contact lenses should come out before swimming, says the CDC, and the FDA says lenses should not meet any water, including pool water.
- The AAP and AAO list three options for a child who needs glasses: polycarbonate lenses in an ASTM F803 sports frame, contact lenses plus a protector, or an over-the-glasses guard.
- Baseball and basketball are linked to the most eye injuries in ages 5 to 24, and properly fitted protectors cut the risk of a significant injury by at least 90%.
- A blow to the eye with pain, blurred vision, blood in the eye or an odd-shaped pupil needs an eye doctor the same day.
A child who wears glasses can swim with prescription swimming goggles, play sport in sports frames with polycarbonate lenses, and should not swim in contact lenses. Ordinary glasses are not eye protection for ball sports, and contact lenses offer none either.
This page covers the options for the pool, the frames and lenses that suit sport, which sports carry the most risk, how to fit a younger child, why eyes go red after swimming, and the injuries that need the same day. It describes published guidance; your child's eye doctor decides what suits your child's prescription.
Does a short-sighted child need prescription swimming goggles?
Not always, but they help a child who cannot see the wall, the pool edge or the coach without glasses. The CDC says prescription goggles may be a good option for people who swim or play water sports and worry about seeing well enough without lenses. Goggles also keep chlorinated water off the eye surface.
There are two kinds. Made-to-order goggles use the child's own prescription in each eye, so they suit different powers in the two eyes and astigmatism. Ready-made goggles with a negative (short-sighted) power are sold in fixed steps, usually the same in both eyes, so they suit a child whose two eyes have a similar number and who has little astigmatism. Ask the optician which kind matches the prescription slip, and bring the slip.
The action: before buying, wear the goggles in the shop for a minute and check that the seal holds without the strap pulled tight. A child who has just been prescribed a first pair may also like the questions to ask at the optical shop.
Can my child swim in contact lenses?
No. The CDC advises contact lens wearers to remove lenses before water activities such as showering or swimming. The US FDA gives the same advice and adds that lenses should not meet any water: tap, bottled, distilled, lake or ocean. Tap and distilled water have been linked to Acanthamoeba keratitis, a corneal infection that is resistant to treatment.
Goggles do not change this advice. A lens that stays in under goggles can still trap water against the eye if the seal leaks. Prescription goggles exist so that a child does not have to choose between seeing and safety. Contact lenses for children and teens explains how lenses are used safely on dry land.
Are ordinary glasses safe for sport?
Usually not. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommend protective eyewear for all participants in sports with a risk of eye injury. For a child who needs glasses, they list three options: polycarbonate lenses in a sports frame that passes ASTM F803 for that sport, contact lenses plus an appropriate protector, or an over-the-glasses guard that meets ASTM F803.
ASTM F803 is a testing standard for eye protectors used in racket sports, baseball fielding, basketball, women's lacrosse and field hockey. The statement also says that protectors tested to a standard by an independent laboratory often carry a certification seal, and that products with a recognised seal should be used when available. It adds that properly fitted protectors have been found to reduce the risk of significant eye injury by at least 90%.
If the child already has glasses that fit well and are polycarbonate, an over-the-glasses guard that meets the same standard is the third option on the list. Ask the optician for a sports frame marked as meeting ASTM F803, not just a sturdy-looking pair of fashion frames. The page the shuttlecock and your child's eye covers badminton specifically.
Which lens material should a child who plays sport have?
Polycarbonate. The AAP and AAO statement calls polycarbonate the most shatter-resistant clear lens material and says it should be used for all safety eyewear, including prescription lenses. Ask what the lens is made of and have it written on the receipt.
A plain pair of children's glasses with standard plastic lenses is not the same thing. Ordinary lenses are not made to take a ball strike. If the child's everyday glasses are polycarbonate, they are a good start, but the frame also needs to hold when hit, which is what the sports standard tests.
Which sports carry the most eye-injury risk?
The AAP and AAO statement says baseball and basketball are associated with the most eye injuries in athletes aged 5 to 24. Its risk table lists basketball, baseball and softball, cricket, lacrosse and hockey as high risk for an unprotected player, and tennis, badminton, soccer and volleyball as moderate. Swimming is listed as low risk, and track and field and gymnastics as eye safe.
The statement makes one point worth repeating: risk follows the chance of the eye being struck with enough energy, and does not follow whether a sport is called contact or non-contact. The same statement cites more than 42,000 sports and recreation eye injuries reported in 2000, 43% of them in people younger than 15. It notes that participation rates are unavailable, so it cannot rank sports exactly.
A child who is functionally one-eyed, meaning best corrected vision worse than 20/40 in the weaker eye, or who has had eye surgery or an injury, needs the eye doctor's advice before any sport. The vision check before a new sport explains what that check covers.
How do I fit sports eyewear on a younger child?
Proper fit is essential, according to the AAP and AAO. The frame should sit on the face without sliding, the strap should be snug but not leave marks, and the lenses should sit centred in front of the pupils. A loose pair gets knocked aside and a very tight pair gets taken off.
The statement notes that some children have narrow facial features and cannot wear even the smallest sports goggles. For those children it describes 3-mm polycarbonate lenses in ANSI Z87.1 frames designed for children, and says parents should be told this protection is not optimal and that the choice of an eye-safer sport should be discussed.
The action: ask the optician to check the fit with the child sitting, nodding and turning the head, because a strap that holds while standing still can slip in play. Let the child try the goggles at home before the first match, and replace them when the strap has stretched or the lens is scratched or cracked, because damaged protectors protect less.
Why are my child's eyes red after swimming, and is it chlorine?
Often it is chlorine byproducts, not the chlorine alone. The CDC explains that chlorine combines with sweat, urine, dirt, skin cells and makeup to form chloramines, which irritate the eyes, and that swimmers can have red and itchy eyes. Showering before swimming and using the toilet first reduce this.
Mild redness and stinging that ease once the child is out of the water fit irritation. Redness with sticky discharge, pain or light sensitivity, or in one eye only, is different and should be seen. Red eyes after swimming explains how to tell the two apart.
When does a sports or pool injury need the same day?
Go the same day for a blow to the eye with pain, blurred or double vision, blood in the coloured part, a pupil that looks misshapen or different, a cut on the eyelid, or a child who cannot open the eye. Do not press on the eye, do not rub it, and do not wait to see if it settles.
A black eye alone can hide injury inside the eye, so a child hit by a ball, racket or elbow needs the eye looked at even when the skin looks the main problem. What to do when a child is poked in the eye sets out the steps. The action: keep the child still, cover the eye loosely with a cup or shield without pressure, and go to an eye casualty or the nearest emergency department.
- Has pain, blurred or double vision, or cannot open the eye.
- Has blood in the coloured part of the eye, or a pupil that looks misshapen or different from the other.
- Has a cut on the eyelid, or something that may have gone into the eye.
- Has one red, painful or light-sensitive eye after swimming, or sticky discharge.
- Wears contact lenses and has a red, painful eye after any contact with water.
Common questions
Does a short-sighted child need prescription swimming goggles?
Can a child swim in contact lenses?
Can my child play badminton or football with glasses on?
What is ASTM F803?
Which sports carry the highest eye-injury risk for children?
Why are my child's eyes red after swimming?
What if my child has narrow facial features and sports goggles do not fit?
- American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Ophthalmology · Protective eyewear for young athletes (policy statement, AAO copy) · aao.org
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Healthy habits: keeping water away from contact lenses · www.cdc.gov
- US Food and Drug Administration · Contact lens risks · www.fda.gov
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Preventing eye irritation from pool chemicals · www.cdc.gov