I got in the pool this morning and swam 4000yds of straight freestlyle. Over the last 1000yds I was getting really nauseous, and it was worse when I got out of the pool! I had a banana, kicked for awhile, and then felt well enough to finish the rest of my workout - but it was so strange! I’ve never had that happen before. I ate the same thing I usually do before I swim, had the same flavor/type of sports drink… and I did a 4000yd free last Friday with no problems. Anyway after I got out of the pool my eyes felt strange and I’ve had icky goo pouring out of them all day (not sure if that’s related to the nausea or not?). I don’t have the flu but I am just getting over a cold (could explain the goo…)
Has anyone else had the nausea experience during / after a long swim? What do you do about it?
When training for Moo 2004, my training partner used to call me “King Ralph.” I’d get through 2000 meters of a 4000 meter straight swim, and then have to get out and go puke because I was so nauseous. Never knew what caused it, but I guessed it might have something to do with cold water getting in my inner ear, or maybe it was the flip turns. Not sure, but I never had a problem in open water.
I always get slightly nauseous in swim workouts. It is not an exertion thing but possibly a middle ear thing for me. Something to do with flipturns and my head turning sideways 1000 times in rapid succession. Its like going to the fair and riding those spinning rides.
I was just about to post a similar topic and found this old thread. Maybe we can update it, especially if the original posters are still around.
I tend to get very mild nausea when swimming anything more than 500 meters in a pool. It’s the turning the head over and over- ugh. I leave the water kind of shaky which sucks for the run to the bike. Furthermore, I’m hoping to do an Olympic this summer and need to solve this issue.
Let’s see if we can find a correlation. For instance, regarding my tendencies:
I don’t get car sick.
I only get sea sick on rough seas.
I HATE amusement park rides that spin.
I’m fine on roller coasters.
I can’t believe a head turn causes me any problem. I feel like a wimp.
i second the ear plug recommendation…works for me.
i have a history of motion sickness and have been tested for it. one of the tests entails blowing cold air on the eardrum. that made me pretty nauseous, so i can see how cold water from the pool would do the same thing. having a cold can cause sinus pressure that contributes to inner ear issues.
I get motion sickness easy and this happens to me a lot. I find it is much worse (I can’t finish a workout and have to hit the couch) when I am overtrained. Dramamine makes a person drowsy so not recommended, but in Hawaii, where the waves going one way and the fish going the other got to me, I used “the Patch” and it worked very well. It has to be prescribed though.
Flip turns make me deathly ill. The kind of sick where you have to sit and do nothing but stare at the ground until it goes away. I swim in the fast lane at masters but have to do the touch/turn around method. Costs me at least half a body length when squaring off against someone head to head.
I tend to get very mild nausea when swimming anything more than 500 meters in a pool. It’s the turning the head over and over- ugh. I leave the water kind of shaky which sucks for the run to the bike. Furthermore, I’m hoping to do an Olympic this summer and need to solve this issue.
Let’s see if we can find a correlation. For instance, regarding my tendencies:
I don’t get car sick.
I only get sea sick on rough seas.
I HATE amusement park rides that spin.
I’m fine on roller coasters.
wow! old thread.
I still get nausea occasionally when I swim - it tends to be when I’m doing fast distance free and doing so many turns. I think it’s something you just have to get used to. But - same thing - I don’t get car sick, I LOVE roller coasters, etc. It’s just swimming
As crummy as it is to say, misery loves company. I feel better not being the only one.
Today I felt pretty bad after a short 25 minute swim. That said, I spent the previous 70 minutes running and biking and I was a bit dehydrated (well, not clinically but you know…).
