“Can I swim in the sea with an eye infection?”

No it would not be wise or safe to swim in sea water with an infection due to exposure to the myriad of infectious agents in the sea water.

You should not swim in any body of water nor get water in your eyes any time you have an eye infection. If you do have an eye infection and you were prescribed drops or an ointment, you will be diluting the treatment that is being used in your eyes, if water does get into your eyes. In the case of swimming in a pool that uses chlorine as a bacterial agent, some bacteria and viruses can survive in chlorine, let alone you do not want to get chlorinated water in your eyes, also. Whatever "sea" you are referring to, there are too many pollutants, chemicals, and contaminants in this type of water to mention. You do not want them getting into any infected eye. And if you were to swim with an infection in your eyes, it is possible that you can spread this infection to other people. And, swimming with an infection can possibly increase your exposure to a longer-term infection or another type of infection depending upon how strong your immune system is. Please check with your eye doctor who hopefully diagnosed your problem in order to advise you how long your treatment will last and if you have any other questions. If you self-diagnosed your eye infection, please remember that there are many types of conjunctivitis problems including bacterial, viral, and allergic and they are all treated differently. Good luck and best wishes.

You shouldn’t