I have an upset stomach after a swim of more than 45 min. Happens in open water and in pool. It feels more like bad indigestion than motion sickness. Has anyone experimented with anti-acids before? Am going to try ear plugs too. Any other suggestions?
I have had this happen before and found I can avoid it by not eating anything during the 90 minutes prior to my swim.
45 min a long swim?? Really. A 2hr squad session is a long swim.
What have you eaten in the three hours previously??
Did eat powerbar about 2 hrs before. Maybe not enough time to digest . Or maybe eat something different.
I have an upset stomach after a swim of more than 45 min. Happens in open water and in pool. It feels more like bad indigestion than motion sickness. Has anyone experimented with anti-acids before? Am going to try ear plugs too. Any other suggestions?
Don’t swallow so much water while swimming.
I had and still have this problem and was told by several people (Triathletes and a doctor) that it has alot to do with swallowing air while breathing. I get an upset stomach and can become gassy for about an hour after the swim. At first I thought it was the chlorine or salt water, but i did some tests where I really didnt swallow any water and I still had the problem. Thats when I checked with a doctor. So it seems swallwing air is the problem, or at least my problem that ive been working on for months with no real fix. If I find a way to prvent this I will definitely be sure to post it and if you find the cure please let me know!!
Do you ever get car sick, sea sick, or any other motion sickness? I have seen people who were susceptible to motion sickness get sick in open water. I have also seen inexperienced swimmers get motion sick in crowded pools and or group open water swims.
If not then I would suspect you are swallowing water/air. Even if you are not feeling sick after a swim are you bloated?
Is it necessary to have to eat something before swimming? I usually stay away from any solid food for 2hrs before swimming. I maybe it’s Powerbars. As long as I can remember, those always made me feel sick.
That used to be 2x/day for me 
Edit:
I used to be able to inhale oreos on the fly during long sets at training camps especially when we we putting in 5- 6 hour days in the pool and dryland.
not sure about stomach upsets if food is 2 hours previous? Too much air?
I hit 30 mins and i get quite light headed, headaches etc…i have to take asprin before i swim because i get crushing headaches even after 1.5kms
The horizontal position while swimming may make it easier for stomach contents to flow back into the esophagus. I have gotten acid indigestion after swimming hard, so now I take Gaviscon before I swim as a preventive measure, and I make sure that if I have eaten, I wait 90 or so minutes before I swim. This has worked well for me.
I had the very same problem…almost puking after swims and feeling almost too dizzy to drive home. My symptoms went away 100% when i started using ear plugs. (the big wax ball kind)
I had the very same problem…almost puking after swims and feeling almost too dizzy to drive home. My symptoms went away 100% when i started using ear plugs. (the big wax ball kind)
+1 Try wax ear plugs to see if that helps. If it solves the problem you might look at getting a custom ear plugs made.
Cold water in one ear and not in the other jacks up your sense of balance and gives you motion sickness. Breathing to one side and/or having a swim cap more over one ear than the other can cause this. That’s why wax ear plugs help so many people. I never get sea sick and this happened to me the other day swimming long in Lake Tahoe. I felt like I had been kicked in stomach.
I eat tons of food before swimming all the time and that doesn’t affect me at all. I’m thinking your issue is more likely the colder water in one ear.
Motion sickness. You are rotating along an axis yet, unlike swimming in the pool, your eyes don’t have a fixed point such as the bottom of the pool to focus on. Your brain is confused between what your ears are telling you (you’re moving) vs what your eyes are telling you (you’re not moving).
What works for me: the anti nausea wristbands. A few bucks at your local pharmacy. Also/or ginger. I absolutely hate ginger so I pay a small fortune to keep Gravol ginger tablets in stock. Anyone else who doesn’t mind the taste of ginger can buy the candied stuff at the grocery store. Because wristbands don’t work too well on race day I rely mostly on ginger.
The more you practice open water swimming the more you will tolerate the motion sickness and be able to wean yourself off whichever technique you use
seat too high.
It is actually just classic motion sickness. I have it and have looked for many ways to resolve it (drugs, ginger, food, etc). I consulted with olympic swimmers and coaches. Seems the only people that have this are triathletes because who would put up woth being miserabkle in a sport if they didn’t have to? We have to struggle through at least 1 or 2 sports to get to do the one sport we really love.
The root is in the turning of the head and if there is water in your ears, it augments in the effect. Some things help but only one thing works…low-drowsiness Dramamine or Bonine. At about 40 minutes, I would get sick and almost vomit. I was highly resistant to drugs but in the end, I want to enjoy this sport and get better at it and have to do what I need to do. Things that help are clear goggles, focusing sides and bottom of pool, earplugs. I think the earplugs are most important after the dramamine.
Best of luck.
Are you drinking anything other than water beforehand? That can often be the cause of an upset stomach during swimming.
thanks. I have eaten a powerbar about 2 hrs prior, typically, when it occurs. It is also usually after a more intense swim, for example, in a race or in a longer swim like 2500 meters. I feel like I may swallowing air. At least that is what it feels like. Gassy, bloating sensation, that makes it hard to stay in aero position on bike and sometimes on the run too.