I had to stay out of the pool for get this...4 months. I would start coughing and sputtering and basically gave up when April passed by and the allergies still hadn't quit. They are usually done!
I got back into the pool 2 weeks ago and had to stop every 4 laps as my stamina had gone way down. It was better than when I started last Oct and had to stop every lap! I started with 500 and yesterday I pushed to do 600. It wasn't that I was tired; I kept having to stop and deal with my lovely allergies. Cough, gasp, wheize, blow, etc. It sucks being me! I was DETERMINED to keep going, so I did, and kept it up. I wish we swam at noon the way we used to; it would allow the morning gump to clear out way before the swim (too much information, sorry).
Has anyone else here in N. Ca had these problems this year? The weather has been odd in that summer took until mid July to really get here and it wreaked havoc with my allergies.
Tomorrow I'm in the pool a little bit later; 8:30 vs 6 am. Hope it'll be a little better. Yes, I take my Claritin. Else I'd be even worse, if that's imagineable...
I want to be in shape for Convention but I fear not. I know I won't be able to do any freestyle; my freestyle absolutely kicks my tail. (sigh)
I try not to be discouraged, but when I think of my high point when I swam that first mile last January, I just get mad.
Sorry to be in such a bad mood, but when your equipment malfunctions (and I'm not talking about those weird times when your goggles decide to leak even though they never did before, your ear plug leaks, etc), it really is discouraging.
Well that's it for now. Hope to see some of you at Convention.
Marian
Former Member
I use flonase, but it does not quiet do the job. Although it has helped. But after a few laps ,I still have a gorrgly throat. :) :confused:
I got into swimming workouts pretty recently (Feb), and I noticed that as soon as I began, I developed nasal allergy symptoms when I swam. I wonder if it has to do with the pool itself. Eventually, the symptoms improved--I found it helpful to use a product called Zicam (the swabs). For some reason that seems to clear up any symptoms...mostly. But I do wonder what about the pool could be causing those symptoms.
I have allergies all year round believe it or not. There are definitely certain times that are worse than others. I have been taking prescription allergy meds for a long time. What works for me is zyrtec & nasacort. Some of that over the counter stuff is useless to me.
I'm going to see my doctor this afternoon, actually. I'll ask him about Flonase. I'm so tired of this. Hope it doesn't cost much, I'm one of those statistical Americans who has no health insurance!
I too have a nasty allergey, . I do get a lot of coughing and throat sputtering. What happened one was , I wanted to swim a mile . But I had to stop at a 1/4 mile . I could hardly breath. But I have been having this prolem for about 8 months. But I have been doing distance with this problem, but I did not know how bad it was until that day I swam a 1/4 mile. So I went to the doctor and she percribed flonase, it has helped. And I am doing distance swims. But I think I can use somthing a little stronger. I live in AZ. :) :cool:
Originally posted by FindingMyInnerFish
I got into swimming workouts pretty recently (Feb), and I noticed that as soon as I began, I developed nasal allergy symptoms when I swam. I wonder if it has to do with the pool itself. Eventually, the symptoms improved--I found it helpful to use a product called Zicam (the swabs). For some reason that seems to clear up any symptoms...mostly. But I do wonder what about the pool could be causing those symptoms.
Chlorine can exacerbate nasal/sinus allergies.
I have chronic allergies. Year round. I'm sure the chlorine in the pool compounds it, but I will not give up swimming for that.
I take allegra daily. I also take a puff of "Combivent" (an albuterol and something-else inhaler) before I swim, else I often get asthma-like symptoms under the stress of exercise. this combination does a pretty good job of keeping my allergies from negatively impacting me in the pool (and out!)
What would concern me is the wheezing and coughing. I have bad allergies also. A few years ago I noticed the same wheezing and coughing in addition to the nasal allergy problem. I had exercise induced asthma when my allergies were bad. It is very hard to determine this without help. The key for me was my Doctor getting me a flow meter and an albuterol inhaler. I would test my airflow before swimming. I found that I had a 10 - 20 % reduction and could not even tell untill I started to exert myself. Now I take the inhaler 15 minutes before I swim and it is amazing. I even get a much better nights sleep if I have some air flow reduction and take the inhaler. The meter is just a plastic flattened tube that you blow into. My Doctor gave it to me for nothing. The inhaler costs me 14 dollars but lasts several months since I use it as needed.
Good luck
i use flonase. It works wonders for me. I have severe asthma & allergies. Frequently peo;le aren't allergic to anything inthe pool. I've been told by most allergist that chlorine isn't an allergen because there is no protein. It is an iritant,. Many peole are allergic to things around the pool and blame the water.
