Are there any risks if I swim without goggles?

It is not uncommon for patients to notice blurring of vision after swimming in a pool without goggles. Most of the time, vision gets blurry as the eye gets dry due to exposure to the chemicals found in the pool, (eg chlorine). The blurring of vision tends to dissipate as the day progresses. While chlorine does lower the microorganism load in the pool, there are still other microorganism present in the pool which does put one at risk of an eye infection. Unfortunately, goggles do not totally eliminate the risk of infection especially when water seeps in and gets into the eye. This is why we always advise patients not to wear their contact lenses when swimming and for our patients who just had an eye surgery to avoid the pool for a certain duration even with the use of goggles.