I'm swimming with a new workout group this year, and am thus in a new pool. Something in the water (not necessarily chlorine) is giving my sinuses fits. It takes more than a day to unstuff, during which time sleeping is problematic. I've rather casually tried decongestant (currently only Sudafed PE) and antihistamines (Claritin) and my trusty neti pot. The neti pot doesn't help a lot if your sinuses are completely clogged though.
I'm skeptical that it's chlorine causing problems mostly because I swam in an older pool last season which had higher chlorine levels with no problem (at least by how long the chlorine smell lingered on my skin).
I realize that chlorine is an irritant, not an allergen, so maybe antihistamines or decongestants won't be all that effective. Is there a nose clip in my future? Anybody using a nose clip strictly to keep chemicals out of your nose and sinuses?
Thx,
Skip
Thanks for all the responses. I bought a nose clip just before Christmas. What with the holiday I've only had one chance to use it. So far, so good. At the end of practice the coach had us do some 25yd no-breath sprints from a dive. The clip came off on the second dive. I will check around and see if I can find a clip with a bit better profile so it's not "grabbed" so much by the water.
I was pretty amazed at how much I used my nose for at least exhaling. It's going to take a bit of getting used to only breathing in and out of my mouth.
Skip
Thanks for all the responses. I bought a nose clip just before Christmas. What with the holiday I've only had one chance to use it. So far, so good. At the end of practice the coach had us do some 25yd no-breath sprints from a dive. The clip came off on the second dive. I will check around and see if I can find a clip with a bit better profile so it's not "grabbed" so much by the water.
I was pretty amazed at how much I used my nose for at least exhaling. It's going to take a bit of getting used to only breathing in and out of my mouth.
Skip
