Last year, I swam three times a week at the same pool from Feb to Sep without any problems. I took a few months off to train for a 1/2 marathon and started swimming again at the same pool in Dec. Now, everytime I swim (at the same pool), about four hours after mu swim, my nose gets stuffy and I start sneezing for the rest of the day. I’ve tried antihistamines and Nasalcrom without much success. I tried nose plugs but using them made me feel like I was about to drown.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what else I might try. My guess is they changed some pool chemicals but it could be something else.
I went through this exact same thing last year. Except I would start the sneezing about 1-2 hours after swimming. I eventually went to the allergist and got on Nasacort and Allegra. I have stopped the Allegra but still use the Nasacort. On the mornings I swim, I go ahead and take 2 squirts of Nasacort right when I wake up and have no problems since. Very rarely, I have to take a Claritin 12 hour.
It is strange because I have swimming at the same pool for 3 yeasrs now. The first year I had no problems. Then all of the sudden last Feb my allergies went haywire. But about June they subsided and haven’t had any problems in over 6 months.
Are you doing mostly crawl, breast, and/or butterfly? My guess would be that head position may be a factor here.
Your sinuses evolved to drain with the head and body in the vertical position. Swimming puts the head in a horizontal position and this is influencing fluid position in those sinuses (and you have multiple sinuses).
Once you get out of the pool for a period of time, your head is back to vertical. You may have, at worst, polyps that have developed, or, at best, a mild cold that has increased mucus production.
You may want to see an allergist or ENT specialist.
I’ve been able to reduce these issues by showering really well immediately after swimming. I use a neutral soap like ivory and a good shampoo like neutragena (sp?) to get the crud out of my hair. Rinse and repeat. It seems to work pretty well. I still sneeze once in a awhile, but it’s no where near as bad as if I don’t shower.
I had exact the same problem, suddenly I started sneezing after my swims. Never been a problem earlier in life. I started using a nose-clip (right word?) Hope you know what I mean. After that my problems is gone!
This appears to be a relatively common problem - considering the # of posts I’ve seen on it - and I know I often get incredibly annoying nasal allergy symptoms, including congestion / runny nose / sneezing.
I can second Tigerchik’s suggestion of showering before getting in the pool - it’s something I started doing, as much for my skin and hair (what’s left of it!) as for my nose - I found it helps, as the chlorine doesn’t seem to stick as well to tissues that are already hydrated. I know some folks who’ve been helped by Nasalcort. Trying the sauna after swim might help, but it has not helped me. The other thing I’ve learned to do is to make sure that, when I exhale underwater, I exhale both through nose and mouth; as minor as it is, it seems to help.
As I travel a fair amount for business, I find that different pools, whic use different chemical systems, cause the problem to a varying degree. The worst I’ve ever experienced was at a hotel in London, and I suspect many hotel pools are very imprecise in their regulation of Cl levels, which can be pretty uncomfortable for those of us with this problem.
Try a Saline nasal spray. I had a similar problem when I first started swimming ; tried the spray right after I swam. Sort of gross but there was ton of pool water released out of my sinuses. Has pretty much taken care of the problem.
Also in another post someone mentioned different pool systems- have found the ozone pools have been the best for lack of symptoms while the chlorine pools seem to aggravate the sinuses more.
hope this helps
My post swim ritual is shower, cover my body in lotion, junk in the ears (I forget the name) to dry them out and several shots of saline spray in the nose to rinse it out. I dont have much problem.
Thanks for all the replies (sorry I didn’t respond back sooner, my ISP was “uncooperative”). Several people mentioned that I should shower right after my swim but I already do that and it seems to make no difference.
I’ve been focusing on trying to keep my head down but maybe I’ve gone too far and the pool water just rushes into my sinuses. Next time I’ll focus more on pressing my chest down and letting my head go where it wants to. I’ll also try the saline/nasal cavity pressure wash and see if that helps (blagh).
I don’t find it difficult at all. Maybe I did in the beginning but now I don’t even notice I have it on. Maybe it has some negative effect but nothing I notice. Even if it is, it’s definetely worth it. The problems is 100% gone. Better than medication after every swimming session at least …
I feel ya. I spent most of yesterday afternoon & evening sneezing. I’m pretty tempted to count those 5 hrs as a core workout.
No solutions here but thought I’d share a data point: I saw an allergist a couple of years ago about this and he said that the reaction is actually not an allergy - it’s a reaction to the chemicals - more like an irritation. So it’s not surprising that sprays and pills don’t help. His suggestion - use a nose plug and spend less time in the pool. (Thanks.) I do find that if I’m not doing much - sitting on the couch in dim light or sleeping - that the sneezing isn’t as bad. (The wife hasn’t bought into this yet.) And it seems as though this isn’t something that hits me early in season. Either it’s the longer swims, buildup over time or I was thinking recently it might be exacerbated by running beforehand.
So…I dunno. I’m going to give the nose plug another go. Kind of a bummer. You don’t see Phelps with a noseplug.
heard the same from a local allergist. That Claritin and the sprays may not work because it doesn’t follow the usual allergic pathways.
Nose clips help, but are dorky.
Other options…salt water pools are less irritating (thank you, 24 Hr. Fitness for switching!), outdoor pools are better because the chlorine gas blows away.
