I know people complain of bad reactions after swimming in the pool (runny nose, sneezing etc) but my problem occurs after swimming in the lake (in particular Thetis Lake, near Victoria, BC). It’s only in the last couple of years (after swimming there since 2001) that I’ve developed some sort of allergic reaction to o/w swimming which I have dubbed “lake nose”. The last two seasons I’ve worn a nose clip when swimming at Thetis Lake and that really helps a lot. However, yesterday I swam but my clip fell off at one point and sank. I continued on for another 20 minutes and thought I would be okay as I was fine when I got out (sometimes the reaction starts within minutes of getting out of the water). One hour after falling asleep though I woke up with a full-on reaction - runny nose, sinuses congested, sneezing, fever and streaming eyes. I finally got up and took a Cloratripilon which seemed to help. I wonder if I’m having an allergic reaction to the pollen from the trees surrounding the lake (possibly cedars) or from the goose poop in the water. Any thoughts or suggestions would be very welcome as I’m tired of feeling as if I have an instant cold, which lasts for up to 2 days, after o/w swimming. Thanks!
CarolynG
I know people complain of bad reactions after swimming in the pool (runny nose, sneezing etc) but my problem occurs after swimming in the lake (in particular Thetis Lake, near Victoria, BC). It’s only in the last couple of years (after swimming there since 2001) that I’ve developed some sort of allergic reaction to o/w swimming which I have dubbed “lake nose”. The last two seasons I’ve worn a nose clip when swimming at Thetis Lake and that really helps a lot. However, yesterday I swam but my clip fell off at one point and sank. I continued on for another 20 minutes and thought I would be okay as I was fine when I got out (sometimes the reaction starts within minutes of getting out of the water). One hour after falling asleep though I woke up with a full-on reaction - runny nose, sinuses congested, sneezing, fever and streaming eyes. I finally got up and took a Cloratripilon which seemed to help. I wonder if I’m having an allergic reaction to the pollen from the trees surrounding the lake (possibly cedars) or from the goose poop in the water. Any thoughts or suggestions would be very welcome as I’m tired of feeling as if I have an instant cold, which lasts for up to 2 days, after o/w swimming. Thanks!
CarolynG
Any chance you’re getting lake water into your sinuses? I’ve heard of some pretty funky infections and stuff if that happens.
John
sinus version of ‘duck itch’?
Yes, I think that’s the whole problem is the water going through my sinuses. Though even when wearing the nose clip the outside of my nostrils itch after swimming. I have tried putting vaseline inside my nostrils to “waterproof” that area, but it’s not particularly effective.
Re the other post - I don’t know if I want to ask what “duck itch” is…! Sounds like bad news…
Is the pollen or other allergens bad there right now? The stuff sticks to the surfice or water like glue.
Where I live the pollen from the white pine trees is terrible right now…A yellow dust is all over everything including the surface of the water. I noticed yesterday, when I tuned my head to breathe, there was a thick yellow film. Since then my nose has been running and my sinus are really stuffed up. Im hoping the rain tonight will clear it out a bit…
Yes, I think that’s the whole problem is the water going through my sinuses. Though even when wearing the nose clip the outside of my nostrils itch after swimming. I have tried putting vaseline inside my nostrils to “waterproof” that area, but it’s not particularly effective.
Re the other post - I don’t know if I want to ask what “duck itch” is…! Sounds like bad news…
Hrm. I tend to breath out through my mouth and nose, and I rarely have a problem with water getting in where it isn’t supposed to. Occasionally I’ll get the odd wave splash that screws that idea up, but I’ve never had a problem from it.
John
I’m probably in the same boat as you. I can swim in a pool no problem but just a few minutes in any lake and I’ll have a runny nose for a few hours, slowly turning into congested sinus and by that evening, it is solidly blocked and I cannot breath a bit out of my nose. It takes at least a day to clear. My only solution is to always wear a nose plug whenever I swim out of a pool.
I get this not only in pools but especially in Lake Michigan. It doesn’t happen right away but by the time I get home my nasal passages are completely clogged and I have to breathe through my mouth. It lasts a couple of days. My solution is to use a couple of sprays of Nasocort in each nostril prior to swimming. It’s prescription, so talk to your doc about it. It has eliminated the symptoms completely.
I have very sensitive sinuses and have issues from OW swimming. I think (conjecture only, no science to back me up on this) that in stressing out your sinuses by filling them with lake water they’re more likely to react to pollen and other allergens. I blow my nose as soon as I can after getting out of the water and do a sinus rinse with my neti pot when I get home.
So this is a new thing for me. I’ve done allergy tests and nothing. But I can confirm it’s NOT pollen. I’ve swum in bodies of water in wildly different parts of the world where there’s no ways there is any similarity in the flora. I’m visiting Georgia (the country) at the moment and just got out of an hour swim in the Tbilisi Sea and wow! So I’ve been googling. And it looks like ALGAE!!! Google this article I just found (I can’t attach it unfortunately). Google “hay-fever reaction from swimming in fresh water”. Dr Herman Heise from Wisconsin. I’m definitely going to follow this up. PS I found a way to attach it.
That’s interesting- thonif I skip read the article it seems to focussed be blue-green algae ? (Did I read it correctly ?)
Of course B-G algae exists to some extent in all fresh water (and only becomes a serious health hazard when it gets the right conditions to bloom- at which point time to stay out for lots of reasons).
I’ certainly suffer the same as other describe - and at couple of local lakes the pollen can be seen hanging over and coating the water surface. I start sneezing whilst swimming sometimes after 20-30 mins. Then as per others come that eve and stuffed up / have to breathe via just my mouth that night and for the next couple of days.
Whereas in bigger Lakes with fewer trees and grass / rockier surroundings or heather or bracken rather than grass meadows, I’m not as bad (still do get it but not as bad.
Leading up to a couple of longer swim events this year (5 and 7 mile races) I ended up purposely avoiding lake swims for the week or two leading up to the big swim, and using an outdoor spring fed lido to swim, to avoid going into the races with blocked sinuses.
I’ve used this since 2017 for pool and lake. Has made a world of a difference: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00GAAJGCW?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
Well it’s not an ‘allergy’ problem, natural waters are packed full of bacteria and viruses that are foreign to the body so you naturally get a reaction when it gets in your sinus’s and splashes around
Just make sure youre blowing out through the nose a lot, sometimes violently to purge the water
I imagine wearing a nose plug is a bad idea, if just a few drops gets in there and is allow to sit and be trapped, your sinus’s are going to be a lot worse. How do you breathe in the water with a nose plug anyway? Seeing as you exhale through your nose in freestyle…
Well it’s not an ‘allergy’ problem, natural waters are packed full of bacteria and viruses that are foreign to the body so you naturally get a reaction when it gets in your sinus’s and splashes around
Just make sure youre blowing out through the nose a lot, sometimes violently to purge the water
I imagine wearing a nose plug is a bad idea, if just a few drops gets in there and is allow to sit and be trapped, your sinus’s are going to be a lot worse. How do you breathe in the water with a nose plug anyway? Seeing as you exhale through your nose in freestyle…
No, That’s an incorrect imagining of what may happen and risks sharing misinformation. Information from someone who has dealt with this:
As noted above, I’ve been wearing a surfer’s nose plug for a while and swim quite a bit. Sure, sometimes water gets in. I pull out the nose plug, blow my nose and put it in again. When I leave the water after wearing the nose plug, I have no issues. When I’ve occasionally forgotten my nose plug, I feel it for days.
I grew up year round swimming and always had congestion and an allergic response (yes, your body responding to antigens, weather pollen that was sitting on the water, or bacteria can be considered an allergic reaction - same immune response). I take Claritin regularly as well because I still have a small reaction due to skin exposure and water going into my mouth.
Even if some water does get past the nose plug, the immune reaction I have is significantly less than if I did not wear a nose plug and that trapped water immediately comes out when I remove the nose plug. If I don’t wear a nose plug, I am stuffed up with mucous for days…
This is the ‘Brown Water Snots’. I end up taking two Benadryl and falling asleep with Kleenex crammed up both nostrils. It is very attractive. Nose clips help a lot but not fool proof and I have yet to find nose clips that stay on well.
I’ve been an avid open water swimmer since 2013. This year is really bad for allergies. I swim in a nice mountain pond less than 2 miles from my house and a big pristine, clean reservoir 25 minutes by car. I get bad allergies after I swim this season and it really got worse in August. My allergies are worse after swimming in the pond but also get them a bit after swimming in the reservoir. I moved to this new area (moved 44 miles northeast) in March 2020. I wasn’t struggling with this last summer and I swam in these bodies of water on a regular basis. So something is going on this year with the pollen or water quality.
My neighbor who also swims with us is also getting bad allergies but worse than me. But not everyone in our swim pod is suffering as badly as us. I’m taking the Allegra-D 24 hr. You have to get it from the pharmacist and show your ID. I live in the Northeast of the US in a rural area. It’s been a weird summer. Partly a drought, then a long heat wave, then cold spell in July then back to heat in August. The trees started turning color in August which is way too early. Really bizarre summer so I’m thinking that has something to do with it. Maybe it’s having effects on the plant life here. Just spit balling…
I actually haven’t dealt with this kind of allergies since maybe 15 years ago or maybe longer.
Same here, solution for me is to use a nose clip
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This is the ‘Brown Water Snots’. I end up taking two Benadryl and falling asleep with Kleenex crammed up both nostrils. It is very attractive. Nose clips help a lot but not fool proof and I have yet to find nose clips that stay on well.
See link above. Not a nose clip