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?
Parents
Former Member
Are there any respitory issues that I could be subjecting myself to by swimming this poorly ventilated pool?
well.blogs.nytimes.com/.../
"problems arise when chlorine mixes with proteins in the water, such as shredded skin or hair, creating chloramines. The more chlorine and the more protein you have in a pool the more chloramines. These toxic byproducts tend to settle just above the water’s surface — where swimmers breathe — and are inhaled deep into the lungs. “There are increasing numbers of studies that suggest that exposure to chloramines may have a major effect on bronchial health,” Boulet says.
Many of the affected swimmers have no idea that their lungs are unhealthy. Often, they have no symptoms or, as Boulet says, “they think that the symptoms”, such as coughing or tightness in the chest, “are a normal part of hard training.” Others realize that they have breathing problems when they try to exercise outside of the humid pool environment. In Boulet’s latest studies, elite swimmers with no symptoms of airway hyper-responsiveness in the pool were positive for the condition during testing on land."
Are there any respitory issues that I could be subjecting myself to by swimming this poorly ventilated pool?
well.blogs.nytimes.com/.../
"problems arise when chlorine mixes with proteins in the water, such as shredded skin or hair, creating chloramines. The more chlorine and the more protein you have in a pool the more chloramines. These toxic byproducts tend to settle just above the water’s surface — where swimmers breathe — and are inhaled deep into the lungs. “There are increasing numbers of studies that suggest that exposure to chloramines may have a major effect on bronchial health,” Boulet says.
Many of the affected swimmers have no idea that their lungs are unhealthy. Often, they have no symptoms or, as Boulet says, “they think that the symptoms”, such as coughing or tightness in the chest, “are a normal part of hard training.” Others realize that they have breathing problems when they try to exercise outside of the humid pool environment. In Boulet’s latest studies, elite swimmers with no symptoms of airway hyper-responsiveness in the pool were positive for the condition during testing on land."
