What next, nose clip?

I, too, have this problem. I start sneezing within minutes of leaving the pool in the morning and continue all day with runny nose and congestion. My doctor first tried Flonase for me which worked ok, but not great, and it usually wore off after a couple hours. I also do a saline rinse daily after swimming, but that works for only about an hour. I finally went to the allergist last week to see if he could do something else and he put me on astelin now. We'll see this week how it works. Would love to hear if others find something else that works!

Hi Syd. It took me about 2 weeks to get comfortable with the clip, since then I've been fine. Also, you could always try synchro to get used to it.:laugh2:

After spending 3 weeks with a severe sinus and throat infection, I've started using nose clips as well. My question is do you guys use them when you compete as well, or only for practices? Also, which clips do you all recommend? I've been using the Speedo gel clips.

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 Skip, was wondering how the nose clip experiment was going. I have finally thrown in the towel and started to use one as well. The sneezing was getting too bad. I was sneezing so much at night time that my ribs started to ache. I know it is the pool water. Recently, I took a month off because of a severe ear infection and whaddaya know: a sneeze free month. Two days after getting back into the water and it all started over again. I dread those sneezing fits. They really hurt and it is disconcerting for the rest of the family. In fact it was my wife who bought me the noseclip. It lay in my bag for months until, finally, this week I could take no more: I had to see if it worked. It has only been three days now and, although they have been sneeze free, I feel 'out of breath' the whole time and have to take it off at the end of every repeat to breathe properly. Does anyone else have this problem? Does it get better?

Skip, was wondering how the nose clip experiment was going. I think it's helping. I certainly have a lot less crud in my head. I would have added a comment earlier, but just after starting to use the nose clip I came down with a cold. Took awhile to clear that up so I could actually tell if the clip was helping. The day I decided to try one I ran up to Kiefer and bought this one. It was about all they had in the store. The hoop part tends to "catch" on the water flowing past my face and want to rotate down. I think I will eventually order this one or this one. I think the spring steel hoop will present less surface area to catch on the water. I was quite out of breath the first few times as well. I'm getting a bit more used to it. I haven't had a meet since starting to use it. I don't know if I'll use it or not this weekend. My longest event is a 200, so I suppose I can probably dispense with the clip in the races and just use it during warm-ups. Skip

After spending 3 weeks with a severe sinus and throat infection, I've started using nose clips as well. My question is do you guys use them when you compete as well, or only for practices? Also, which clips do you all recommend? I've been using the Speedo gel clips. I don't use them competing or open water. I use a snychro clip - wire with plastic cover. The gel clips are fine, as are some other plastic clips, but they are less durable and less adjustable than the wire ones.

Thanks for all the clip reviews. I've been swimming for fitness for the past year and just started to compete last December. It seems as I was learning to flipturn, I was getting a snout full of water, which infected my sinuses, throat and ears. I'm wondering if I should bother to try again, or just keep using the clips. Advice?

Also, you could always try synchro to get used to it.:laugh2: Riiiiight! That would not be a pretty sight! I think I will eventually order this one or this one. I think the spring steel hoop will present less surface area to catch on the water. I have the Speedo one and it hasn't come off yet. It is also easy to slide on, doesn't hurt my nose or leave indentations on it when I take it off and it doesn't grab the water (at least not significantly). It seems as I was learning to flipturn, I was getting a snout full of water, which infected my sinuses, throat and ears. I'm wondering if I should bother to try again, or just keep using the clips. Advice? I would suggest trying the clip while you are learning to flip turn if that is going to be more comfortable for you, but remember you can also exhale through your nose while turning. This will also keep the water out of your nose.

I have been using a nose clip for 2 or 3 years now. I has solved all runny nose/post nasal drip problems as well as dry smokers cough. I hated using it for about the first year, but it was worth it. I started with the synchro style wire clip because it was more comfortable, but it tends to loosen up. Now I like the Tyr. The Speedo is too tight for my nose. I use it in all races and it stays on during the dive. Sunscreen makes it slip off. In workouts, I slide it off if there is enough rest time for better breathing. Once you get used to it, if you swim without it you discover how much water really flows through your head. I found it distracting during a race. I guess I forgot how to blow out in a flip turn.

nose clip def. helps in susceptible pools. I wish I still had mine. I haven't been getting an allergic reaction, but I have been getting sinus infections from the water (which gets in my nose during my backstroke turns). I much prefer the wire clips like the speedo and kiefer ones you linked.