When can I swim after an eye injection?

The one restriction the ASRS does state is avoiding potential contamination of the eye on the day of the injection. Swimming pools, hot tubs, lakes and the ocean all put non-sterile water against an eye that has a fresh needle entry point on its surface, so injection day is not the day to swim.

There is no published study that sets an exact number of days, so this is a judgment call your retina specialist should make for you. A common, conservative approach is to skip water on injection day and go back the next day for chlorinated pools, and to give lakes, rivers and hot tubs a few days. Hot tubs deserve the most caution because warm standing water carries a heavier bacterial load.

When you do go back, well-fitting goggles keep water off the eye surface. If the red spot on the white of your eye is still there, that is not by itself a reason to stay out of the pool, but any pain, increasing redness or blurring is a reason to call the office instead of swimming.