Sometimes, goggles are uncomfortable or have poor seals that make this tool useless for those who love to swim. By keeping your eyes open underwater, there is a risk that the mucous membranes (in the nose and eye area) will become irritated, but it is often impossible to do without them. Therefore, it is vital to adapt to the underwater environment and visual distortions, so the first step is to learn to keep your eyes open underwater.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Practice at Home
Step 1. Go to the bathroom and fill the sink with water
You have to relax and start getting familiar with tap water instead of pool water, the sweet one from a natural spring or the salty one from the sea. You should fill the sink so that half of your face is submerged. To make the operation easier, avoid temperatures that are too high or too low which risk traumatizing or burning the skin.
Step 2. Immerse your face with your eyes closed
Let your face get used to the water temperature and try to stay calm and calm. If your nose becomes irritated during this step, stop as your eyes may be even more sensitive to the chlorine or halogen substances used to disinfect city water.
Step 3. Soak in the bathtub
Learn to keep your eyes open while holding your breath. The water should be cold or lukewarm, like that from the pool or sink in the previous step. Keep practicing until you no longer have any difficulties and you no longer notice eye irritation from contact with water.
Part 2 of 2: Open Your Eyes While You Swim
Step 1. Test in lightly treated water
Practice swimming in a freshwater or chlorine-free pool. Although the latter has not been shown to cause eye irritation or damage to the cornea, it has been found to promote the action of substances found in tub cleaning detergents. Therefore, you should avoid larger pools, as hypochlorite or elemental chlorine is more likely to be used to preserve water quality.
Step 2. Dive in and open your eyes
If you swim in fresh water, expect some eye discomfort, but this effect is much more likely to be greater in contact with treated or sea water. If you don't spend too much time immersed, you won't lose visual acuity despite eye and corneal irritation.
Step 3. Practice keeping them open for longer
Proceed slowly based on the sensation of visual discomfort or how tired you feel. Continue until you can hold them more open as you hold your breath. Gradually build up your stamina by focusing every time you go underwater. Avoid deep or dangerous areas if you are not an experienced swimmer.
Step 4. Get used to keeping them open and looking underwater
You will likely need to divide this workout into several sessions to avoid irritating your eyes with chlorine or salt water, although you will likely get used to it in no time. You may want to practice in different types of waters, as visibility and color can vary greatly. Do not practice in stagnant or unclean areas. Infections are common in small lakes and reservoirs.
- You will need to practice more if you want to accurately analyze visual information when underwater. Learn to estimate the distance between your position and that of objects that are at a certain depth and calculate how long it would take you to reach them so that you have a clearer idea of how you can react in this type of environment.
- If you dive without scuba diving equipment, avoid going too deep. Changes in pressure during ascent to the surface can break capillaries and cause damage to the ears. Make sure you know how to compensate once you learn how to swim.
Advice
- If you exercise in your pool, consider purchasing a low-chlorine or chlorine-free cleaner to reduce eye irritation and the risk of corneal damage.
- It is advisable to use goggles in chemical treated water or in the sea to decrease the risk of corneal damage and eye irritation. Although chlorine-based cleaners are not directly linked to vision loss among swimmers, the substances in these products and their effects on water properties, such as pH or osmolarity, have been shown to irritate mucous membranes. and the cornea.
Warnings
- Avoid swimming or opening your eyes in pools where the water is stagnant or untreated. The risk of contracting infections is high when the mucous membranes come into contact with the microorganisms that populate the water not treated with chemicals.
- Avoid swimming pools treated with chlorine especially if you have breathing problems, as it has been found a relationship between the concentrations of chlorine in the gaseous state and breathing difficulties in swimmers.
