Last Thursday at my local YMCA, I almost couldn't complete my workout because I could not control my coughing towards the end. I have been swimming at this Y without any issues for a year. Yesterday (Tuesday), I had the same thing happen. I swam outdoors on Sunday, and had no issues. I ran this morning outdoors and had no issues. This is twice now that this particular Y has caused me to stop swimming because of coughing in the past week. The lifeguards say the water levels are fine.
I hear others complaining of high pH levels in this saline pools which produces higher chlorine levels. I am not a chemist, so I am only repeating what I have heard.
Are there any respitory issues that I could be subjecting myself to by swimming this poorly ventilated pool?
Many swimmers not born with asthma have developed it after years of swimming in poorly ventilated pools. I have several friends that were diagnosed in their thirties with asthma and all the doctors were of the opinion that swimming in a poorly ventilated pool was a big factor.
Bring your problem to the attention of the Y director. Perhaps something is wrong with the ventilation system and/or chemical balance of the pool. By bringing it to his/her attention, perhaps the problem can be corrected. I have to bring it to the attention of my Y all the time and they usually try to do something about it.
Check the water temp because high water temps always seem to aggravate the problem. If lap swimmers never say anything to the director, the folks that complain when the water is below 86 will always win out.
When my Y has ventilation problems and it is not getting fixed quickly, I find another pool to swim in until the problem is corrected. I have asthma, so ventilation/chemical balance is something I have to consider when I swim. I have to drive a little bit further, but it is worth it. Better to do that then have to be put on a stiff dose of prednisone because of respiratory problems.
I've had the same issue with low Ph, and it was terrible. I kind of doubt the ventilation issue, that seems to be a red herring. Ph issues can really be painful on the body.
you are preaching to the choir. since i moved to indoor pools, i constantly cannot breath. i hack, i wheeze . btw, i am asthmatic. i do fine in the ocean, skiing etc. but something about indoor pools gets me. poor ventilation, mold you name it. Bromine sets off some people. as a matter of fact,today i had really bad breathing problems.
Interesting that you should post this today—the New York Times has a "Well" column that addresses exactly this issue. Here's the url:
well.blogs.nytimes.com/.../
There's a lot of valuable information here, some of it speculative, and it's worth reading to the end. My own particular issue with pools is that I experience explosive sneezing fits after swimming, but only when I swim in certain pools. My current pool is several degrees cooler than average and not nearly as intensively chlorinated, and I experience no such symptoms now.
You are not alone. The coughing spells happen to me occasionally at our pool. I was told that it had something to do with the chloramines being at the top of the water and being stirred up by all the swimmers. It feels like you are going to cough up both lungs and can't inhale at all. I thought warm water temps. in the pool was bad enough. No fun to swim through jello.
This used to happen to me when I was a kid and swam indoors. Every once and a while, the PH or ventilation or something would be off and I would develop some asthma-like symptoms. Usually the problem was gone by the next day. Hopefully that's your issue too.
Thanks for your advice. I just emailed the YMCA branch manager. Hopefully others are experiencing similar symptoms as mine. In the meantime, I will have to drive futher to my other YMCA.
Interesting that you should post this today—the New York Times has a "Well" column that addresses exactly this issue. Here's the url:
well.blogs.nytimes.com/.../
There's a lot of valuable information here, some of it speculative, and it's worth reading to the end. My own particular issue with pools is that I experience explosive sneezing fits after swimming, but only when I swim in certain pools. My current pool is several degrees cooler than average and not nearly as intensively chlorinated, and I experience no such symptoms now.
Thanks for sharing that link. That is dead on. I will try a different YMCA before I go see my doctor.
I constantly have a runny nose from swimming at my local Y. Some days are worse than others. I've never had this problem swimming in other pools. I think it's because my Y uses bromine instead of chlorine. I am going to try switching to most of my swimming at the IU outdoor pool for the rest of the summer and see if that makes a difference.
