Hey all, since everyone here has been swimming for at least as long as me, and probably WAY more than me also in some cases, I have a question for you guys:
How is your sense of smell?
I personally feel like mine is HORRIBLE and I blame it on inhaling chlorine for all the years I've swam. The only scent I can really smell is the overwhelming smell of an indoor pool.
i actually have a wicked good sense of smell. too good sometimes (like when college roommates did a little too much :drink: and would wreck the bathroom... :rolleyes: ) i've been swimming for 18 years, so i guess i got lucky that my sense of smell hasn't died. or maybe it has, but it was good enough before that now i just have a normal sense of smell... :laugh2:
My smelling is effected when i swim. I usually also get sinus infection when i swim as well.. The doctor told me that he thought i may be allergic to chlorine. :dunno:
but most swimmers i know have no noticable nose/sinus related conditions
I guess I'm just weird then. :cool:
I am like you in that I used to get sinus infections when I swam when I was younger, those are the worst. I was just always congested. Now that I'm back in the water after taking some time off, I already have the sniffles.
Our poor noses and the horror we put them through! :laugh2:
In my case it is the other way around, every visit to swimming pool, and water sloshing in my nose for about half an hour or more actually improves my sense of smell that otherwise is somewhat muted by allergies.
Chlorine is very unpleasant as it irritates skin and nose mucous membrane, beyond that chlorine does not seem to have any lasting effect on my sense of smell. If I had a choice I would prefer to swim in unchlorinated water, unfortunately in public pools chlorine is a necessary evil.
I have a friend that claims he lost most of his sense of smell after going through a rather nasty virus/bacteria infections that attacked his throat, bronchites, ears, sinuses and nose.
You are lucky! And so are the rest of you who don't have any smelling problems! I can't even smell my own perfume. :(
Lisa- of course, how poor your sense of smell is totally subjective. My sense of smell is vastly inferior to that of my wife & yes, I am the one in water all the time (mind you, she did swim age-group much longer than me). I am constantly snuffling and sneezing for hours after a workout (worse if I was sprinting) & during that time I can't smell anything. If I take an oral sinus decongestant then I usually clear up & can detect smells much better.
Grisly note: years ago I was a police officer & had a perpetually broken nose from contact sports inc boxing (no swimming then) & was sent as a first assigned officer to all the sudden death calls 'cause I couldn't smell a thing even when others were retching. My sense if smell is much better than that now, so I conclude that the tissue irritation was a key part.
My smelling is effected when i swim. I usually also get sinus infection when i swim as well.. The doctor told me that he thought i may be allergic to chlorine. :dunno:
but most swimmers i know have no noticable nose/sinus related conditions
Hey all, since everyone here has been swimming for at least as long as me, and probably WAY more than me also in some cases, I have a question for you guys:
How is your sense of smell?
I personally feel like mine is HORRIBLE and I blame it on inhaling chlorine for all the years I've swam. The only scent I can really smell is the overwhelming smell of an indoor pool.
In my case it is the other way around, every visit to swimming pool, and water sloshing in my nose for about half an hour or more actually improves my sense of smell that otherwise is somewhat muted by allergies.
Chlorine is very unpleasant as it irritates skin and nose mucous membrane, beyond that chlorine does not seem to have any lasting effect on my sense of smell. If I had a choice I would prefer to swim in unchlorinated water, unfortunately in public pools chlorine is a necessary evil.
I have a friend that claims he lost most of his sense of smell after going through a rather nasty virus/bacteria infections that attacked his throat, bronchites, ears, sinuses and nose.
Even though my nose is always stuffed up and I am a mouth-breather, my sense of smell is pretty good. Used to be that while swimming freestyle during warmup I could smell alcohol and it would be our beloved former coach walking past the fresh air intake vents outside on his way into the natatorium. Our pool is basement-level and 50m long, pretty good distance.
