I use a nose clip to avoid the snuffliness I get post swimming.

FWIW . My wife and I call it pool nose, we get it randomly ( once every couple of weeks) but mostly after longer sets with a snorkel. This started about a year ago and the only thing we changed was started to use a snorkel for stroke correction. Usually it starts afternoon with sneezing and runny nose and by morning it's gone. We have not found a cure. 😢

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"Be your best cheerleader , not your worst critic.”

I had a similar thing when I first started triathlon about six years ago and I got a nasal/sinus flush kit from the chemist that helped but then it just seemed to go away and now I have no issues. It was definitely worse in indoor more chlorinated pools.

I use antihistamine nose spray (the sort you use for hay fever). Spray straight after and then another 12 hours later.

Flixonase is the brand I use, possibly different elsewhere in the world.

I'm puzzled of your post and this is why:

I had these symptoms after swimming, coming up the same night (so not directly, but not before the night so I had troubles sleeping) and sometimes lasting for days.

It costed me years to solve this problem and tried things like noseclips and keeping my forehead warm. I informed myself and it seems that chorine allergy does not exist (correct me if I'm wrong).

Anyway, finally I learned that I only get it after swimming in fresh water, except for chlorine pools. I now swim only in chlorine pools or in salt water. Which is a shame because I have a nice little lake near home. I only have the problem nowedays after a triathlon with a freshwater swim, but that is acceptable twice or three times a year. Must be something in fresh water against which I'm allergic.

So that's why I'm puzzled, because you seem to get it in a chlorine pool. I also searched a lot in the internet and the phenomenon is known and it always seems to be related to fresh water except chlorine pools.

I get it quite often - big sneezing fits - often whilst still in the pool if ive been on a longer sessuon (say 50 mins or above). Several diferent pools, all chlorinated to greater or lesser extents

Bit I do also get it in open water some places.

I've always assumed it's a mild alergic reaction and/or just the nasal passage getting a bit irritated - rightly or wrongly I guess there's a lot of pollen about at the lakes I swim in at the time of year when its warm enough to (all are grassy + a lot of surrounding trees - often start sneezing uncontrollably the moment out of the lake. Sometimes whilst still in.)

For the pools i just put up with it.
Antihistamine for hay fever for open water swims

My partner starts sneezing in the car on the way home from the pool most of the time.
She has a tendency to drink half the pool, so it quite susceptible to it!
It is only in pools but never open water, so we figure it must be the chlorine.

Yep same issue 24 hour cold

Are you flip turning? I gave up flip turning back in 2009 for similar reasons. It helped tremendously. Now fast forward many years and I have some negative ear pressure in my ear which tends to suck things into them (thru the nose of course). Didn't know this in 2009 and I am not sure if it was the same back then but I would be curious to know. Regardless, I just don't bother flipping.

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Happens to me all the time. I don't like nose clips (or at least ones I've tried). So I've just accepted it :/

^^^ This

Nose clip works. You can also try coating the inside of your nose with a bit of Vaseline but the clips have been most effective for me.

Discussed this with my coach, he's been training swimmers on deck for decades. Not chlorine allergy but some people develop sensitivity, chlorine strips the lining of the nose - fairly common. I have started using a nose clip, problem gone. I am now just unsure about what to do for the first race in OW, unlikely sea or lake water will have the same effect but now I am completely used to breathing with my mouth only!

This happens randomly for me to. It came out of nowhere for the first time last summer. It seemed like I suddenly became allergic to my pool. I used a nose clip and took both Allegra and Flonase after my swims. When I did that, I had no symptoms. I quit everything after a few weeks and went months with no symptoms. It came up again after a couple swims in January. I just hit the Flonase after swims for a week, and that fixed it. Now, I am off everything again with no symptoms.

So, my working theory is that some people may get allergic to pool chemicals some times. And, maybe it evolves to all the time. For me, OTC antihistamines work magic. (I hated wearing the nose clip, but I think it was pretty effective too.)

This happens to me in the pool if I swim long. It's even worse when I swim open water. Nose clips work very well but does take some time getting used to. I've also found that running a few miles after the swim usually clears things out

This happened to me big time, so I had to quit master's swim. I sneeze a lot and have stuffed and runny nose for at least a week.
I feel like water is cold, your body warms up and sinus opens up somehow.
I don't have this problem when I swim in outdoor pool when it's hot outside.
It only happens in indoor pool when I feel bit chilly in the beginning but warm up later.
After the run in cold weather, if I come in to my car with the heater on, I sneeze and have runny nose again.
When I eat hot soup, I have to blow my nose constantly.
Something triggers to open up my sinus.

Dumb question but can you still exhale out your nose when using nose clips?

I have similar issues after a swim, sneezing and runny nose for hours. A friend gave me a bottle of “swim spray” which really helped a lot, just spray on hair after showering post swim. Others have suggested making your own spray with vitamin C. I’ve never tried that but Google it and you may find a good DIY recipie.

SwimSpray Chlorine Removal Spray - 4 oz https://www.amazon.ca/..._api_i_k2CwCbF7P9SWX

John

I get a similar thing and I put it down to a reaction to the by products of the chlorinated water. Usually taking an antihistamine before a swim workout would help, generic Claritin or similar. I was fine in fresh or salt water. Also if you have a tendency to fill your sinuses when flip turning or similar you'll definitely get a runny nose which could also be irritating things.

I have a chlorine allergy that manifests itself if I take a break of more than 3 or 4 weeks from the pool. The first 4 or 5 swims back give me the worst cold symptoms for the rest of that day - until I go to bed, basically. Strangely though, the symptoms disappear after I've been back in the pool for a week or two.

If anything, it gives me a good excuse to be relatively consistent in the sport I enjoy the least of the three!

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I don't do flip turns any longer for this reason.

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Yes, you can exhale. I've been wearing one for pool swims for about 10 years. Only real issue is if you have oily skin (nose). Trick for that is to use your pull bouy to wipe off the oil off your nose and the clip.

When I first started, I had a nasty bike crash after about a year of swim training. It kept me out of the pool for a month. When I got back in, a few hours after each swim I got so congested it was literally like someone had poured concrete in my sinuses. Nothing helped - not steam room, not Neti-pot, not the other things I tried and can't remember now. The worst was trying to go to sleep a few hours after evening masters'. Fortunately, I kept at it and after a few weeks it went away on its own and didn't happen the next few times I had time away from the pool

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