Air quality in the bubble at LC Nationals in Savannah

Originally posted by kerees The following day I strolled in (already done just to hang out and watch) and I started hacking my lungs away again. Doahhh! I had assumed that it was from all the food you ate on the Riverboat cruise. (Hi Karla) ;) For whatever reason, I got stuffed up (allergies?) in the hotel and on the plane ride, but it would clear up when I got to the pool. Same thing at Indy. Weird.

Like Kelly, I also came home from Savannah with ear infections. My doctor said it was swimmer's ear, which surprised me since I've never had that in all my years of swimming. It took a full 3 weeks to clear up. Did anyone else have a similar problem - or are we northwesterners wimpy?

Like Kelly, I also came home from Savannah with ear infections. My doctor said it was swimmer's ear, which surprised me since I've never had that in all my years of swimming. It took a full 3 weeks to clear up. Did anyone else have a similar problem - or are we northwesterners wimpy?

I had an ear infection too - doctor gave me some drops that were anti-biotic anti-inflammatory, which worked very well. My ear (it was worse on one side) was quite painful,

So our readers don’t come away thinking that we swam nationals in some sort of chlorine/bacteria filled swamp. Being a distance swimmer with a big kick, I often feel the effects of chlorine in workouts and at meets. I DID NOT have any problems at Savannah and had some of my best swims this century! I did shower before and after each swim (warm-up and race) to remove the chlorine. This may have helped. And I also tried to get out of the bubble as often as possible. I have also found that it is important to keep my ears clean and dry to prevent infections. This seems to be especially important in bubble enclosures where the air pressure is slightly higher than normal. I usually squirt some rubbing alcohol into my ears after swimming to dry them out. This seems to have prevented the problems being reported by some participants. As David stated “Air/water quality will remain an issue for any meet the size of nationals”. Just remember that there are preventative measures that us swimmers can take to reduce the potential adverse effects.

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.