Help with ? about poor air quality in pool - coughing swimmers
Former Member
I work out at a small YMCA pool. We have had increasing problems with our swim team kids and some of the masters swimmers struggling to breathe in the pool area during workouts (more than normal!). We get an asthma-like coughing response when working hard, and some kids now get it as soon as they walk in the pool room. My observation is that the problem has worsened recently. When asking the obvious questions of the staff, there has been no known change in the chemicals, etc. We get mostly shrugs of denial from the YMCA.
This really concerns us as parents and swimmers about what we are doing to our athletes' respiratory systems.
How can I get this problem diagnosed? What sort of professional could evaluate the problem? It could be an air quality issue caused by a chemical treatment problem, or an HVAC air handling problem, or both. Poor ventilation has been one theory.
Any suggestions?
Parents
Former Member
Deb,
It's encouraging that you're taking a strong lead on this. I used to train in a pool with a previous club, where the air quality was also poor. The swimmers didn't used to start coughing until we were putting in significant efforts ... sadly, the coach used to think that we were all soft and even thought we were making it up because we were afraid of hard work!!!!!
Fortunately, this coach 'moved on' and was replaced by an individual with a more mature approach.
The solution? Well, although it was never completely eradicated, the 'later' coach did manage to open a door from the pool that allowed fresh air from outside the building to enter directly into the pool area. Perhaps this might not be feasible at other pools though. This seemed to help (us) a little.
Good luck!
Deb,
It's encouraging that you're taking a strong lead on this. I used to train in a pool with a previous club, where the air quality was also poor. The swimmers didn't used to start coughing until we were putting in significant efforts ... sadly, the coach used to think that we were all soft and even thought we were making it up because we were afraid of hard work!!!!!
Fortunately, this coach 'moved on' and was replaced by an individual with a more mature approach.
The solution? Well, although it was never completely eradicated, the 'later' coach did manage to open a door from the pool that allowed fresh air from outside the building to enter directly into the pool area. Perhaps this might not be feasible at other pools though. This seemed to help (us) a little.
Good luck!
