Can you shower with contact lenses?

Austin Brewer
May 20, 2022

Just like swimming with contacts, showering with your contact lenses isn’t a great idea. The world is full of great ideas but taking a relaxing shower with your contacts in might end up being the least relaxing thing you do all day.  

You’re probably wondering why, exactly, you shouldn’t wear contacts in the shower? Well let's find out.   

Should you wear contacts in the shower?  

Short answer is no, you shouldn’t wear contacts in the shower.  

Contact lenses are like little plastic sponges that absorb what they come in contact with. The tap water in your home can contain microbes that you don’t want in your eyes. They’re not very good at self-defense and you want to make sure your eyes have the best environment to thrive in. When contact lenses are exposed to shower water, they absorb those microbes. Yuck.  

Once the microbes are sufficiently saturated in your contacts, they can cause all sort of problems, like eye infections or even vision loss. Naturally, you like to see and showering with contacts might make that much more difficult.   

But that’s not the only thing that could happen. Shower water can cause lenses to swell, making them uncomfortable to wear. The fit of your contacts is so important and any variation in size may cause discomfort. It will also wash away your eyes’ natural lubricant, so your eyes will feel drier. All of that combined is a recipe for a bad day, if you ask me.   

You might also suffer the worst outcome, losing a brand-new pair of contacts down the drain. All it takes is for one unruly stream of water to break the seal on your lenses then you’ll be scrambling, half-blurred, to find your lost lens at the bottom of the shower.   

So, what are you supposed to do then?   

We recommend taking out your contacts before you step into the shower. Store them in lens solution and put them back in when you’re all dried off. Pretty easy solution.  

Truthfully, many people shower in their contacts everyday with no issues. It’s ultimately up to your discretion how you maintain your contacts, but we would highly encourage you to think twice before stepping into that steaming oasis. Your showers may be blurry, but you’ll have two very happy eyes.  

Original published date: 1/24/2020

Updated: 5/20/2022