Chlorine allergy and the end of my swimming days.....
Former Member
Well I'm grateful every day to be healthy enough to swim and not chronically ill or something, but am at my wits end to have come to the conclusion I may very well have to give up swimming. That past year I have been dealing with horrible sneezing bouts post swim that leave me sounding like I have a cold for days. I tried a nose plug for 3 weeks after reading somewhere that might be it even though I don't feel like water gets in there. No effect. Took a week off swimming and my symptoms abated. Got back in Monday and have been a mess.
Makes me quite bummed to think I may have to ditch my swimming...it's hard to stop something you love doing 5x a week that you have been doing for over 30 years. Would love to know if anyone has successfully combated this issue and how. The Googles has been a joke for solutions....all lead to 'stop exposing the person to chlorine'. We have zero salt water pools and I'm 45 minutes from the nearest lake.
Feel free to suggest anything....thanks!
I am sorry to learn of your recent difficulty as a side effect of swimming in chlorine water. My personal experience is not as severe as you described, but became more exacerbated as I grew older. The most significant factor minimizing congestion and post nasal drip in my case was swimming in salt based sanitized pools, which many public pools seem to be in this area of Florida. It was just luck as we had to move to this area for the job.
Another factor is a daily supplementation blend that includes flaxseed oil. I started the flaxseed oil mainly due to a very severe situation of dry-eyes, but surprisingly it also seems to assist with clearing up my ears, nose, and throat too. Another minor factor could also be that I started using those shower gloves for skin exfoliation and would really scrub and rinse very thoroughly after each swim, particularly around my face, eyes, nose, and ears (gently of course). Everyone is different as we all know, so please keep seeking for more answers, for as swimmers, we all would like to see you continue as best possible, but can understand the challenge you face. Perhaps an allergist could be useful, if you have not already been through a consultation. The full snorkel mask as Atlantic mentioned could be a possibility. Sincerely wishing for you to find a solution!
I am sorry to learn of your recent difficulty as a side effect of swimming in chlorine water. My personal experience is not as severe as you described, but became more exacerbated as I grew older. The most significant factor minimizing congestion and post nasal drip in my case was swimming in salt based sanitized pools, which many public pools seem to be in this area of Florida. It was just luck as we had to move to this area for the job.
Another factor is a daily supplementation blend that includes flaxseed oil. I started the flaxseed oil mainly due to a very severe situation of dry-eyes, but surprisingly it also seems to assist with clearing up my ears, nose, and throat too. Another minor factor could also be that I started using those shower gloves for skin exfoliation and would really scrub and rinse very thoroughly after each swim, particularly around my face, eyes, nose, and ears (gently of course). Everyone is different as we all know, so please keep seeking for more answers, for as swimmers, we all would like to see you continue as best possible, but can understand the challenge you face. Perhaps an allergist could be useful, if you have not already been through a consultation. The full snorkel mask as Atlantic mentioned could be a possibility. Sincerely wishing for you to find a solution!
