Hello all! I am a rookie swimmer. I began swimming last year to train for a sprint triathalon which I competed in last fall. In the middle of last year, I began having problems with motion sickness after swimming. I have tried swimming with and without ear plugs, with and without contact lenses (I always wear goggles), drinking a lot to ensure hydration, wrist bands with acupressure tabs meant to alleviate the effects of motion sickness, I've tried swimming in indoor pools and I've tried swimming in lakes. Sometimes it's worse than other times, sometimes it's better and I haven't noticed that any of the above variables have made a consistent difference. One doctor told me to try dramamine and I haven't yet tried that, but it seems like kind of a stop-gap solution to an ongoing problem. The last time I tried swimming, I was only in the water for about 10 minutes. I got out because I was feeling a little dizzy and I wanted to see if I could shake it off, but I ended up getting dressed and going home where I felt a bit wonky for about an hour. I have also tried to "push through it" when I felt the nausea coming on, thinking that maybe if I kept going, that it would go away. I was socked with two solid hours of nausea for that attempt. I am rather frustrated with this phenomenon, so I thought I'd put the question out there and see if anyone has any suggestions. Thanks!
Parents
Former Member
Actually, I ended up going in to a physical therapist who had me do this exercise where I focused on an X in the middle of a checkered pattern (picture an 8.5x11 sheet of paper with about 1" black and white squares in a checker pattern) and while not taking my eyes off of the "x", shake my head back and forth as fast as I could for as long as I could and try to work up to 1 minute. When I started, I couldn't do more than about 15 seconds without getting dizzy/nauseated, but after a few weeks, I was able to do a minute. I also began focusing on a spot on the bottom of the pool as I swam over it if I started feeling dizzy. I also stopped trying to breathe on both sides and breathe only on my right side (the easier side) and at least one of these methods seems to have re-trained my brain sufficiently well. I can now swim without problems!
Actually, I ended up going in to a physical therapist who had me do this exercise where I focused on an X in the middle of a checkered pattern (picture an 8.5x11 sheet of paper with about 1" black and white squares in a checker pattern) and while not taking my eyes off of the "x", shake my head back and forth as fast as I could for as long as I could and try to work up to 1 minute. When I started, I couldn't do more than about 15 seconds without getting dizzy/nauseated, but after a few weeks, I was able to do a minute. I also began focusing on a spot on the bottom of the pool as I swam over it if I started feeling dizzy. I also stopped trying to breathe on both sides and breathe only on my right side (the easier side) and at least one of these methods seems to have re-trained my brain sufficiently well. I can now swim without problems!
