Two post-op eye surgery questions

I'm currently at 12 days post-op eye surgery (strabismus) and have two questions I was hoping somebody here could help me out with.  Normally I'd ask my doctor but he's away on vacation for the time being.

The first--are there any goggles I can wear that will allow me to swim while safely protecting my eye?  I was told to avoid swimming for at least 3 weeks after the surgery, preferably longer, but seeing how it's the middle of summer and I live right on a lake, that is a difficult order to follow.  Is there any way to get around this?  Maybe a certain type of goggles that will completely protect my eye while also not adding too much pressure to the surrounding area?  I was thinking like scuba goggles might work since they're so big and wouldn't put as much pressure on that eye...but I'm not sure.

The second--how long will it be until the blood in my eye goes away?  It's been nearly two weeks and all it seems to have done is spread.  I'd say 70% of the white of my eye is blood and I have a distinct black eye on my lower eyelid as well.  Is there anything I can do to make the blood flush out faster?  Also, the other day I had a nosebleed at random for the first time in 5+ years...would that have anything to do with the blood in my eye?  I doubt it but I just wanted to check and make sure.

Thanks!

[Sandra M Brown, MD]

1] Don't swim.  You can wade in the lake up to your neck as long as no one splashes you.  Float on an inner tube or something.  No goggles are guaranteed.  Lake water is filthy.  You run an extreme risk of infection if you disobey this instruction.

2] It sounds like you had a fair amount of blood drain behind your eye during surgery and it is gradually working its way forward into the lid and under the skin of the eye.  There is no way to speed this process up.  The blood must break down and clear on its own like a bruise under the skin.  Don't mess with it.