Swimming and Sinusitus*

Iron Enthusiast

Greetings all!

I've had to take a couple of months of my swim training due to a Torn Rotator cuff. Thankfully my shoulder now seems to be on the mend, but now that i'm back in the pool I can't ignore the effects it seems to be having on my sinuses. I had this issue whil training for IM but a healthy dose of stubborness meant I managed to muddle by. (Even though it meant very bad headaches for at least a full day after every swim session!)

I have hayfever so am all too familiar with the effects of sinusitus including pressure behind your eyes, headaches and a feeling of disorientation.

I'm just wondering if anyone else out there has experienced a similar reaction to pool swimming, and if so what you did to overcome it?

The irony is that two years ago I hated swimming and now that i;ve grown to enjoy it I'm suffering because of it!:(

Mods please note i'm absolutely not looking for medical advice on this, just anecdotes from others with a similar experience!:)

Many thanks in advance!

IE

airscotty

Which pool are you swimming in? It may be due to the type/strength of chlorine used. Personally I hate swimming in a certain pool due to the chlorine in it but no problems at others.

Iron Enthusiast

Belvedere pool causes some irritation(great pool though) but nothing as severe as Glenalbyn. Swam there two days ago. Otherwise it's the Markaviez centre! (bit of a pool slut as you can see)

rainbow kirby

airscotty wrote: »

Personally I hate swimming in a certain pool due to the chlorine in it

Terenure College? My nose always runs like a tap after swimming there.

promethius

Iron Enthusiast wrote: »

Greetings all!

I've had to take a couple of months of my swim training due to a Torn Rotator cuff. Thankfully my shoulder now seems to be on the mend, but now that i'm back in the pool I can't ignore the effects it seems to be having on my sinuses. I had this issue whil training for IM but a healthy dose of stubborness meant I managed to muddle by. (Even though it meant very bad headaches for at least a full day after every swim session!)

I have hayfever so am all too familiar with the effects of sinusitus including pressure behind your eyes, headaches and a feeling of disorientation.

I'm just wondering if anyone else out there has experienced a similar reaction to pool swimming, and if so what you did to overcome it?

The irony is that two years ago I hated swimming and now that i;ve grown to enjoy it I'm suffering because of it!:(

Mods please note i'm absolutely not looking for medical advice on this, just anecdotes from others with a similar experience!:)

Many thanks in advance!

IE

I've experienced the same problems in the past. the solution is really simple, a nose clip. it will take a few weeks to get used to but you won't even notice it then, when i got mine the problems went away immediately. the plastic ones don't work at all, the ones with metal wire are really good.
It's like night and day with the changes these little things make.

Domer

I have a similar problem. After a swim session in the pool, I could sneeze 30 or 40 times. Very annoying for the rest of the family trying to watch TV when I get home!! Somebody recommended a saline nasal spray, or taking 1 Sudafed. May try the spray... wont try the Sudafed!

jcunniffe

promethius wrote: »

I've experienced the same problems in the past. the solution is really simple, a nose clip. it will take a few weeks to get used to but you won't even notice it then, when i got mine the problems went away immediately. the plastic ones don't work at all, the ones with metal wire are really good.
It's like night and day with the changes these little things make.

+1

Had sneezing, eyes watering, and sinus irritation for up to 24hrs after a chlorine swim. Nose clip eliminated these for me.

As Promethius say, try a few different designs until you get one that's comfortable on your nose. You won't notice it after a few swims.

J

mcdonrob

+1 on the metal wire nose-clip

reduces snoring too...

Miraculously, the nose-clip has cured the dead-arm that I was waking with each morning from being thumped due to snoring.

griffin100

I had the same problem last year when I started increasing the time in the pool for IM - I would end up in bits for a day or two after a long session with completely blocked nose and pain behind the eyes. I tried lots of different types of nose clips and they helped to some degree but at least once during a session the clip would fall off and I'd spend ages trying to find the feckin thing again.

So my tried and tested works every time method is:

• Fill a clean lucozade sport or similar bottle with clean fresh water
• After every swim tilt your head back and GENTLY squirt the clean water up your nose until you feel it running down the back of your throat - this takes some getting used to. If you squirt too hard you'll blow out your ears:)
• Wash each sinus this way 3-4 times with the freash water
• When finished give a blast of flixonase up each nostril

Works for me every time. When doing shorter sessions I wash the sinuses but give the flixonase a miss (its about €13 a bottle:rolleyes:). Its a pain in the arse at first but when you get used to it you can do it in a few seconds.

mloc123

Kinda similar topic, anyone suffer from trapped water in their ears?

Wrecks my head, I'll spend most of the day after a swim trying to get water out of my right ear.

huskerdu

mloc123 wrote: »

Kinda similar topic, anyone suffer from trapped water in their ears?

Wrecks my head, I'll spend most of the day after a swim trying to get water out of my right ear.

Go to your GP and get your ears syringed. It will be like having the volume turned up on the world. Great experience.

Oryx

huskerdu wrote: »

Go to your GP and get your ears syringed. It will be like having the volume turned up on the world. Great experience.

I have the same trapped water issue, I look like a loon after swimming, tilting and tapping my head. But I wont be paying €60.00 to see if the GP can fix it. (I dont want the volume turned up on my world anyway, I have kids. )

Ear plugs help, but like the nose clips, they fall out and you spend ages trying to find them again.

griffin100

Kinda similar topic, anyone suffer from trapped water in their ears?

Wrecks my head, I'll spend most of the day after a swim trying to get water out of my right ear.

Me again:D I suffer from this (I really should give up swimming and start doing adventure races) but I find earplugs stop it just fine. I use these ones and they have never fallen out or let water in including in sea swims - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/speedo-biofuse-aquatic-earplug-1/. Again it takes some practice to get used to them. I usually pick them up in Elverys.

Macanri

I have bith of these issues on and off

Nose issues: I usually sneeze alot after a swim. It was pretty bad once and I got Actifed - it worked well.

Water in the ear: I used to be also a head tapping, hopping up and down on one foot loon. Now, what I find very effective for removing the water is: I stand up straight then bend over, keeping my legs nearly straight, so that me head below waist level. Then I twist my head so that the ear that I want to clear is pointing to the ground. I then pull up on the top of my ear while jolting my head a bit. Works very well for me. Try it.

Funny enough, I never seem to have an issue during a tri, I just jump straight on to the bike and away.

umpire bat

Try switching to goats milk and the nasal rinse.

frankspain

hi i had the same problem last year .the nose clip is pretty good
but i gave up dairy products and use soya instead
problem gone .

RacoonQueen

promethius wrote: »

I've experienced the same problems in the past. the solution is really simple, a nose clip. it will take a few weeks to get used to but you won't even notice it then, when i got mine the problems went away immediately. the plastic ones don't work at all, the ones with metal wire are really good.
It's like night and day with the changes these little things make.

I got one of these ages ago. I'm mostly a keep the head out of the water swimmer/one stroke breather though. I feel really claustrophobic not being able to breathe through my nose. I suppose it is just a case of getting used to it...

mloc123 wrote: »

Kinda similar topic, anyone suffer from trapped water in their ears?

Wrecks my head, I'll spend most of the day after a swim trying to get water out of my right ear.

Bloody hell, I hate this. I was suffering on Friday night after Fridays swim was shaking my head all over the place in t'pub like a crazy person. Though I ended up with a nice hairstyle(and still had water in my ear). :rolleyes:

Have considered ear plugs, my ears can get quite sore after a swim aswell. I usually just pul my cap over my ears to try and minimise the amount of water going into my ears. Helps, minutely.

ir666

Metal nose clip is what I use.

You do get used to it.

Although it does tend to slide out of position after awhile.

(For open water I wont be using it)

Schildkroetla

I had the exact same problem with the sneezing. It started gradually and ended in me waking up during the night not being able to breath at all. I use the nose clip as well. I tried the nasal rinse and even nose oil (with a yummy orange smell), but that wouldn't help. It's got to be the nose clip.

I don't know where you are located, but if you are anywhere near Limerick try the University pool there. It's not chlorine, it's ozone. I had a swim session there a few weeks ago and I was able to do without the nose clip. I wish we had an ozon pool where I live.