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
When I started swimming again about a year ago, 3x/week for 45 minutes, I too sneezed, had red eyes, and a sniffly runny nose. I tried everything under the sun for longer than a year...nothing, nothing worked. Medications, Nasal sprays, Neti Pot, suffering without anything...I finally went to be a timer at my son's swim meet and noticed that many of the guys were wearing=====NOSE CLIPS!!! I went right out and swallowed my pride, bought traditional nose plugs - not much difference, but some improvement. I noticed the boys were wearing different ones, so I went to a real swimmer's clip instead of the old style, and got some very cool looking Speedo Silicone Nose Clips ($3.95). WAY better, these completely close off the nasal passage, and I no longer sneeze, sniff, or require any sort of medication. Who would have ever thought the answer would be so easy..and yet so hard for me to actually do because of my pride.
Nerds unite, and get over it. You too can swim again without suffering!
When I started swimming again about a year ago, 3x/week for 45 minutes, I too sneezed, had red eyes, and a sniffly runny nose. I tried everything under the sun for longer than a year...nothing, nothing worked. Medications, Nasal sprays, Neti Pot, suffering without anything...I finally went to be a timer at my son's swim meet and noticed that many of the guys were wearing=====NOSE CLIPS!!! I went right out and swallowed my pride, bought traditional nose plugs - not much difference, but some improvement. I noticed the boys were wearing different ones, so I went to a real swimmer's clip instead of the old style, and got some very cool looking Speedo Silicone Nose Clips ($3.95). WAY better, these completely close off the nasal passage, and I no longer sneeze, sniff, or require any sort of medication. Who would have ever thought the answer would be so easy..and yet so hard for me to actually do because of my pride.
Nerds unite, and get over it. You too can swim again without suffering!
