Chlorine / Asthma symptoms?

I'll say this... I was hospitalized for asthma as a kid. I'm 54 now and have really grown out of it and haven't really gotten 'regular' attacks since my 20s. There are triggers though and I do get one now and then...and chlorine is one of my triggers. I've been athletic my whole life. But, in my early 20s I lifeguarded at a pool that used chlorine in gas form. A couple of times we experience leaks and it did trigger an attack. If you're pool is small they're probably not using chlorine gas...but if they've had a spill recently, or anything else that could cause significant amounts of it to vaporize (used it for cleaning?)...maybe that could cause the attacks. Dan

It's not the chlorine itself that leads to poor air quality, but the chloramines that are formed when chlorine reacts with body fluids. Besides adequate ventilation, you could talk to the pool manager about enforcing showers before swimming and making sure kids are taken to the bathroom before swim lessons. Regarding your symptoms, it depends on whether you have had asthma before. If so, you can treat this like previous asthma symptoms. If you have never had asthma before, you should see you doctor to get a clear diagnosis and treatment plan.

It's not the chlorine itself that leads to poor air quality, but the chloramines that are formed when chlorine reacts with body fluids. Besides adequate ventilation, you could talk to the pool manager about enforcing showers before swimming and making sure kids are taken to the bathroom before swim lessons. Regarding your symptoms, it depends on whether you have had asthma before. If so, you can treat this like previous asthma symptoms. If you have never had asthma before, you should see you doctor to get a clear diagnosis and treatment plan. I don't get asthma symptoms from my pool but do leave feeling like I'm in the middle of ragweed season--sneezing, runny nose, itchy skin/ eyes too sometimes. I've heard similar things about chloramines. I don't have nearly the problem w/ the high school pool I also use and I'm not sure they're any more strict than the Y about pre-swim showering. But maybe maintenance is better....

I ran short of breath during my moderate freestyle warmup today, had to tread water for a bit, totally changed my plans to backstroke, then cut the session way short. This was the first day in a different outdoor pool than usual, which I've been planning to use while kids inundated the main city pool for the summer, but was not happy with this. Afterwards I asked a lifeguard if the chlorine levels were higher than usual. He said yes they were high today (5 ppm?), as they were low yesterday. I said that seems quite high, and he said they are usually 3 or 4, but didn't seem sure of the levels. I don't know much about this but thought the usual level should be 1 to 2. Regardless, I'm convinced, also from past experience, that the chlorine levels were too high, and the cause of the problem. Any ideas for what I can look into and follow up with the person in charge?

In addition to chlorine sensitivity, people may also want to look into vasomotor rhinitis, also known as excercise-induced rhinitis, and exercise-induced asthma. If you have cold or asthma symptoms especially after very hard work-outs, you may experience these symptoms. See your doctor, treat the symptoms with same typical meds for allergies and asthma, and get proper rest after hard work-outs so your body can rebuild higher fitness levels. The symptoms usually diminish and go away as your fitness and endurance are built up. Basically, the body is under great stress and may think it is under attack and has to fight back. Oftentimes the symptoms start right after or even during a work-out or they may be delayed for an hour or so. There's also the possibilty of symptoms occuring 24-hours after hard work-outs, which is a rebound effect, whereby the body wants more of the chemicals produced during the work-out. Exercise addiction.

No, that's way off base. When there's an obvious cause, there's no reason to look for something imaginary, or to take some dangerous drugs, even on top of chemicals in the water. The people on either side of me also noticed the pool change as affecting their swimming. Yesterday someone found fresh *** in the pool, which was promptly evacuated. I asked a lifeguard how long the pool would be closed, and he said oh just until they added more chemicals.

No, that's way off base. When there's an obvious cause, there's no reason to look for something imaginary, or to take some dangerous drugs, even on top of chemicals in the water. The people on either side of me also noticed the pool change as affecting their swimming. Yesterday someone found fresh *** in the pool, which was promptly evacuated. I asked a lifeguard how long the pool would be closed, and he said oh just until they added more chemicals.Read again. I clearly advised to speak to a doctor to evaluate. I am not saying you or others did not notice a real problem with the amount of chlorine in the pool or that some people are not sensitive to various chemicals in a pool. But it may be something to consider. When I swam competitively in High School, I was diagnosed by a doctor with exercise-induced asthma and it could have been mistaken as chlorine sensitivity. I forgot all about that and as an adult I've had some really bad exercise induced rhinitis after very intense work-outs (eg, 3-6 mile swims). I thought at first maybe it was sensitivity to chlorine or other chemicals. Spoke with my allergist and later my pulmonologist and he nailed it with the diagnosis of vasomotor rhinitis. A good cyclist friend of mine has had serious problems with exercise-induced asthma on hard rides and his doctor treats it with injections. It's a real thing and should be taken into consideration by some people.

Read again. I clearly stated: No, that's way off base. When there's an obvious cause, there's no reason to look for something imaginary, or to take some dangerous drugs, even on top of chemicals in the water. I'm not interested, since you're loath to solution, and all you have to offer is medicating yourself.

The point is that you didn't have asthma symptoms due to chlorine, i.e. caused by chlorine and other chemicals in the water which is what this topic is about, as there is actually something medically wrong with you.I can also have asthma symptoms from chlorine without exercising, eg, in an indoor water park where they sometimes use huge amounts of chlorine. The symptoms are the same. My point is that there can be other things going on at the same time or totally separately. If one has asthma like symptoms from swimming, which is what the OP's question was about, there can be various causes, it might be from chlorine or other causes or multiple inter-related causes. I see nothing at all wrong with people reading this thread learning about these other factors, rather than assuming it can only be from chlorine, as I once did. By the way, there is nothing at all medically wrong with me. It is just a common physiological reaction to extremely intense work-outs, where the body feels it is under attack and defends itself. In fact, several of the physiological reactions are identical, whether the bodily stress is caused by a virus, a chemical such as chlorine, or from the self-inflicted physical stress of an extreme work-out. As one attains higher and higher levels of fitness and endurance, it takes ever more intense extreme work-outs to provoke such a reaction.

By the way, there is nothing at all medically wrong with me. It is just a common physiological reaction to extremely intense work-outs, where the body feels it is under attack and defends itself. I've personally done many intense workouts through my life, and never felt the way you've described. Therefore if it's not a medical issue in your case, then perhaps it's psychological, and you should see a psychologist. Another possible factor is improper breathing, described here, a rather common affliction. Usually asthmatics are not able to hold their breath very long, and practicing proper breathing can be helpful.