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Why do you need swimming goggles?

Swimming goggles are important when going for a swim. Though many people neglect to carry these accessories with them, they serve critical functions while swimming. Perhaps understanding why you need them may encourage you to be using swimming goggles more often, if not always, when you swim.

Before we get into reasons you should have goggles, let us look at the anatomy of goggles. There are three important parts of a swimming goggle that enable it to work underwater. There is the strap, the support and suction lining, and the protective glass. The strap of the goggle is generally adjustable and made of comfortable and flexible plastic material. This allows adjusting of the strap to suit your head and be comfortable. The support and suction lining is the soft plastic structure that covers the outer parts of the eye.

This is designed to keep water out by using the suction capability to adhere tightly but comfortably around your eye structure. By doing this, water is kept out. Finally, there is the protective "glass" or polycarbonate eyepiece. This sits on the support and suction part of the goggles. The function this part serves is to ensure clear vision and keep water out. Now that you are well acquainted of the structure of swimming goggles, let us dive right into why it's important to have them.

Avoiding irritation and redness
When you wear swimming goggles, it is a protective measure for your eyes. Protection from what exactly? Well, the swimming pool is a body of water. This body of water is generally treated by chemicals that are to destroy bacteria and other harmful organisms to humans that swim in the pool. Though these chemicals are useful to a large extent, they are not all that friendly to our eyes. The PH level in the pool as a result of chlorine may be too high or too low than the eye should experience. If the eye is submerged in the unhealthy levels of PH, chances are that you will experience eye redness and irritation. These uncomfortable feelings can be avoided easily by wearing a pair of goggles.

Protection
The eye is a sensitive organ and when underwater of a swimming pool, it is exposed to a number of harmful bacteria. These bacteria accumulate in the pool from a number of sources such as make up, urine, saliva, dead skin, and more. Though pools are cleaned by the personnel, a lot of times this cleaning is only on the surface and does not rid of the micro organisms. When the naked eye is exposed to such microorganisms, it may cause serious infections. Wearing goggles is a preventative measure to keep you safe from potentially dangerous bacterial infections.

Clear vision
Another important use of goggles is vision. While the human eye is not designed to function in acoustic environments, goggles enable us to view underwater. The glass of the goggles is the key component in this area. Some goggles are frosted to protect the eye from sun rays and allow you to view your navigation underwater. For competitive swimming, having clear vision is correlated with better strokes due to ability to view movement route. Another use of this is just the fun factor. Being underwater is an enjoyable experience and being able to view the world underwater.