Air quality in the bubble at LC Nationals in Savannah
Former Member
First of all I would like to start this thread by saying this is the BEST ORGANIZED swim meet I have ever had the pleasure to compete in. Absolutely EVERYTHING was taken care of by Scott Rabalais and his group. Thanks for an awesome time!!
I do have something to complain about, and it was the air quality inside the bubble. I know many of my teammates at NC Masters are still suffering from the effects of the chlorine. I had a very difficult time breathing on Saturday and Sunday, especially after each of my events. I felt I could not take a deep breath. I have asked many of my teammates about this, and most of them had the same problem.
Did anyone experience something similar??
I have had asthma in the past and water quality was suspected as an etiologic agent. Since I switched pools, my job and moved I am off all asthma meds. I have a hand held peak flow meter and have documented a reduction in flows which seems to correlate with the smell of chlorine and the cloudyness of one of the pools I currently use.
I swam in one of the warm up meets at Savannah without problems. I did develope tracheal irritation by the second day of nationals. There are some studies showing evidence of exercise induced bronchospasm (EIB) following exposure to chlorine and tricholoramines.
Arthur J. Williams (Sport Institute of South Africa) presented a paper at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine which showed a decrease in the Forced Expiratory Volume (bronchospasm/asthma) in over 60% of swimmers when the chlorine level increased from 0.5ppm (' hygiene (Ann Occup Hyg 1995; 39:437-9). I believe the cause of respiratory difficulties will prove to be more complex with with the method of chlorination, chlorine & choramines levels (air/water), pH, temperature, frequency of fresh water exchanges all playing a role.
Air/water quality will remain an issue for any meet the size of nationals. An attempt must be made to ensure fresh air flow, showering before entering the pool, & fresh water exchanges of low volume pools used for warm ups may be needed to prevent degradation of air quality. Rutgers had a temporary pool set up outside for warm ups. This may also help alleviate the problem in the future, weather permiting.
I have had asthma in the past and water quality was suspected as an etiologic agent. Since I switched pools, my job and moved I am off all asthma meds. I have a hand held peak flow meter and have documented a reduction in flows which seems to correlate with the smell of chlorine and the cloudyness of one of the pools I currently use.
I swam in one of the warm up meets at Savannah without problems. I did develope tracheal irritation by the second day of nationals. There are some studies showing evidence of exercise induced bronchospasm (EIB) following exposure to chlorine and tricholoramines.
Arthur J. Williams (Sport Institute of South Africa) presented a paper at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine which showed a decrease in the Forced Expiratory Volume (bronchospasm/asthma) in over 60% of swimmers when the chlorine level increased from 0.5ppm (' hygiene (Ann Occup Hyg 1995; 39:437-9). I believe the cause of respiratory difficulties will prove to be more complex with with the method of chlorination, chlorine & choramines levels (air/water), pH, temperature, frequency of fresh water exchanges all playing a role.
Air/water quality will remain an issue for any meet the size of nationals. An attempt must be made to ensure fresh air flow, showering before entering the pool, & fresh water exchanges of low volume pools used for warm ups may be needed to prevent degradation of air quality. Rutgers had a temporary pool set up outside for warm ups. This may also help alleviate the problem in the future, weather permiting.
