Having fun and keeping healthy by swimming in the pool is something that you might love doing, but has your body exhibited a few symptoms after you’ve taken a swim in the pool? If you unhesitatingly answered YES then chances are your body is exhibiting allergic symptoms and it would be to your advantage if you learn a few things about it.
There has been more than one report that swimming pool chemicals can trigger allergies and actual studies have shown that this happens for a fact. It does not matter if the swimmer is physically healthy or not. The main point here is that allergies can occur and these can differ depending on the person being affected.
Chemicals and the allergies:
- Chlorine – this commonly used chemical sanitizer for swimming pools and hot tubs is one of the common causes of pool chemical allergies. On the other hand, some symptoms have been misdiagnosed as allergies but are actually symptoms of chlorine intolerance. The allergies it causes include difficulty in breathing that can lead to asthma, watery and swollen eyes, skin itchiness, and nose stuffiness.
- Bromine – a swimming pool chemical disinfectant used as an alternative to chlorine. Contact dermatitis is a symptom of bromine allergy.
- Potassium monopersulfate – used as a chemical “shocker” to provide greater chlorine efficiency in the hot tub or swimming pool It can cause skin rashes and itchiness.
- Calcium hypochlorite – used to sanitize and disinfect swimming pools. Calcium hypochlorite allergy includes breathing difficulties that can lead to asthma and contact dermatitis.
Finding a remedy:
- Once you have confirmed that you are allergic to chlorine, you can choose to swim in saltwater pools or bromine-treated pools instead. If you have your own swimming pool and use chlorine for treatments try to decrease the volume of chlorine being used until you reach a tolerable level. If this does not work, your only option is to try non-chlorine based pool chemicals, oxidation, and ionization treatments.
- Bromine is not as regularly used as chlorine so identifying your sensitivity to bromine might be a bit difficult unless you notice that your allergies only appear after you have had your fun in the pool. Chlorine-based pool chemicals, natural products, ionization, and oxidation treatments may be your alternatives.
- If after making sure that you have washed and rinsed off properly the allergic symptoms still comes out, it would be to your advantage if you stop swimming in the pool, at least temporarily. Having a medical professional properly identify the allergic symptoms you are exhibiting is your best resort.
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One’s health is important and taking the utmost care so you won’t get sick should be a priority. A healthy body can be accomplished with regular exercise. If you like low-impact exercises then swimming or water exercises is what you want to think about engaging in. The water lets your body to become buoyant thus giving less stress to your bones but giving you just enough resistance to tone and firm the muscles.
If you plan to do some serious swimming strokes around the pool or even a couple of exercise routines, you should make sure that you have done a warm-up routine. If this is your first time to exercise in the pool then you may want to begin your routine with a warm-up exercise such as head, arm, shoulder, and ankle rotations; stretching exercises; and breathing exercises. Cool-down exercises are also a must after each swimming or exercise routine.
The use of swimming pool chemicals to sanitize and clean the pool water assures you that the water is safe for swimming and exercising, regardless of whether it is a public or a private pool. Allergic symptoms can, however, be caused by the same pool chemicals thus taking the utmost care is still recommended. Having your own swimming pool does not equate to zero allergies. The good news to owning your own pool is that you can change the amount and kinds of chemicals in the swimming pool if necessary. If your allergy was triggered by swimming in a public pool, try to find another pool that uses a different chemical treatment for the pool water.
Once you have begun to exhibit allergic symptoms such as shortness of breath, skin itchiness, swollen eyes, and clogged nostrils it is best to seek the help of a professional in identifying what triggered the allergy. You can either alter the type of chemical that you are applying or you can decrease the amount of the pool chemical. For instance, you can replace chlorine with bromine and other disinfecting treatments if you have been diagnosed with chlorine allergy.
You should steer clear of getting in the pool again if you are exhibiting moderate or severe allergic reactions, that is until a doctor has checked up on you. Avoiding the pool water for a certain period of time helps you determine if the pool water is the cause of your allergy.
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Swimming pools can give hours of pleasure and relaxation for individuals who love to swim either in the day or at night, which is why the pool water should always be ready for the swimmer.
The water in the swimming pool becomes fit for swimming only when it has been properly treated using pool chemicals.
An overview is provided of the swimming pool chemicals that you need to know about particularly if you own your very own swimming pool. Knowing what is being added into your pool water is recommended even if you do hire a pool professional to do the job for you. You can make better decisions about maintaining your swimming pool if you are equipped with the proper know-how.
Chemical sanitizers for pools
These are the frequently used chemicals for the swimming pool. These chemicals assists in controlling the growth of algae and bacteria. It also helps maintain water clarity and reduces the risk of viruses and other water microorganisms. The most commonly known pool sanitizers are chlorine and bromine, of which chlorine is widely used. Ionization treatments and biguanide chemicals are also obtainable if you want your pool water to be free of chlorine and bromine.
Chemical balancers for the pool water
These are utilized to make sure that the water in your swimming pool has the correct amount of alkalinity, calcium hardness, and pH. An ideal swimming environment is created because of the balanced water in the swimming pool. It also helps prevent the occurrence of water-related problems with the pool equipment and pool surface. You can test if your pool water is within the suggested range for alkalinity, pH, and calcium hardness using water test kits. The chemical you can use to adjust the water includes pH and alkalinity increasers and decreasers, and calcium hardness increasers.
Oxidizers and pool water shockers
The development of bacteria and algae are regulated in addition to chemical sanitizers. Oxidizers and pool water shockers are applied once-a-week or twice-a-week, depending on the frequency that the pool is used. These include lithium hypochlorite, sodium di-chlor, calcium hypochlorite, monopersulfate, sodium hypochlorite, and potassium peroxymonosulfate.
Algaecides for pool water
In addition to the regulation provided by the sanitizers, it helps control algal growth. Algaecides are recommended for use in sun-exposed swimming pools. These algaecides include metallics, borates, bromine salts, quaternary ammonia, and polyquats.
The other pool chemicals that you can utilize to maintain your pool are stain and scale inhibitors, metal removers, clarifiers, and cyanuric acid stabilizers.
Try to read up more about the chemicals that we have mentioned in this article particularly the possible side effects that they may have in the long run for the swimmer and the swimming pool itself.
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