Greetings, I just joined this group last night (08/14) due to my latest round of allergy attack prompted by swimming. Briefly, I am 61 yrs old, swam distance, some masters, and college intermurals from age 20 - 40. Around 40 I developed allergy to something in the pool, worked with allergy clinic at Ohio State Medical Center. Doc could not figure it out. Was on med for awhile that worked, but it was taken off the market.
I finally gave up, went to running long distance for the next 21 years. Lately I have been tiring of running, have tried on a few occasions to return to swimming, this past week for example. Mon. 1000 yds, Wed 500 yds, Fri. 1000 yds. Started some sneezing during the week, determined I could beat it this time until Friday night and a huge allergy attack, repeated sneezing, runy nose, burning eyes......and I am about to admit defeat again. It is very unpleasant, very disruptive.
I do not have other allergies. In a regular year I dont even typically get sick, maybe the rare sneezing. Also live with 4 dogs, two of them big GSDs, meaning lots of dog dander. No problem.
Go swimming a few days in a row and it is a disaster, same as 20 years ago when I finally switched to running. I would like to get back to swimming, but.............
There is a lot of insight and experience in this group. Does anyone have any ideas about this, antidotes, medications, techniques to address this problem? Any thoughts will be appreciated. I may return to OSU allergy clinic, see what they will say. Meanwhile, your comments are welcome.
Skip Cornett
Columbus, OH
Parents
Former Member
1: Talk to the manager of the largest pool you can find and ask him if there is a pool in the area that uses a non-chlorine disinfectant. If you can find a pool with an alternate disinfectant, perhaps you may find one that doesn't trigger your allergy.
2: As was said above, try to find a pool that virtually no one uses (eg, a backyard pool that is well maintained but rarely used). Even if you can only get one half-hour swim in it, you may have extra data.
3. I wonder whether using a snorkel might also help minimize allergen exposure.
4. Have you tried swimming in a river, lake, or ocean to see how they affect you? If the trigger is disinfectant chemicals, maybe you should become an open-water swimmer.
5. Indoor pools are notorious for their higher level of chemicals. (I don't mean to say there aren't well run indoor pools.) But outdoor pools are exposed to pollens. Do you react differently?
6. Do take a vigorous shower with soap after swimming to remove as many chemicals as possible from your skin, esp. around your hair, face & hands.
I would think most if not all large public pools supply disinfectants at close to a constant rate all day long. There can be effects due to usage of the pool or weather/sunshine that may make the levels in the pool vary during the day -- but they shouldn't vary by that much in a well maintained pool.
A few years ago, I started having difficulty getting enough air in workout. I figured it was just being badly out of shape but eventually I realized it was (exercise induced) asthma (other medication contributed to it), which an inhaler helped. The odd thing is that I can work out until I drop on an (indoor) exercise bike and the asthma never hits there. I have had a few exercise induced incidents outside of swimming, but it makes me wonder if there are contributing factors such as chemicals/pollen in the pool, body position, or body temperature.
1: Talk to the manager of the largest pool you can find and ask him if there is a pool in the area that uses a non-chlorine disinfectant. If you can find a pool with an alternate disinfectant, perhaps you may find one that doesn't trigger your allergy.
2: As was said above, try to find a pool that virtually no one uses (eg, a backyard pool that is well maintained but rarely used). Even if you can only get one half-hour swim in it, you may have extra data.
3. I wonder whether using a snorkel might also help minimize allergen exposure.
4. Have you tried swimming in a river, lake, or ocean to see how they affect you? If the trigger is disinfectant chemicals, maybe you should become an open-water swimmer.
5. Indoor pools are notorious for their higher level of chemicals. (I don't mean to say there aren't well run indoor pools.) But outdoor pools are exposed to pollens. Do you react differently?
6. Do take a vigorous shower with soap after swimming to remove as many chemicals as possible from your skin, esp. around your hair, face & hands.
I would think most if not all large public pools supply disinfectants at close to a constant rate all day long. There can be effects due to usage of the pool or weather/sunshine that may make the levels in the pool vary during the day -- but they shouldn't vary by that much in a well maintained pool.
A few years ago, I started having difficulty getting enough air in workout. I figured it was just being badly out of shape but eventually I realized it was (exercise induced) asthma (other medication contributed to it), which an inhaler helped. The odd thing is that I can work out until I drop on an (indoor) exercise bike and the asthma never hits there. I have had a few exercise induced incidents outside of swimming, but it makes me wonder if there are contributing factors such as chemicals/pollen in the pool, body position, or body temperature.
