When You Swim
Swimming is a very beneficial form of exercise that strengthens your body and improves your physicality. However, it does come with its side effects. It’s important to be aware of the types of issues you may encounter when you swim.
Swimmer’s Ear
While you’re swimming, you spend a lot of time in the water. This creates a more moist environment in your ear. Excess moisture increases the amount of bacteria that can grow in the ear and this can lead to the development of swimmer’s ear.
This is an infection of the outer ear. You can experience redness, itching, swelling, pain, muffled hearing, and more. Swimmer’s ear can also be caused by swimming in unclean water, sticking objects into your ear, or even having an injury in your ear. Typically, swimmer’s ear does not last long. You may be prescribed some ear drops that will help clear up the infection in 7-10 days.
Swimmer’s Itch
Another common issue for swimmers is swimmer’s itch. This is a rash that can appear after swimming or wading in contaminated water. It often occurs after swimming in lakes or ponds, but it can also happen in other bodies of water. Swimmer’s itch is caused by microscopic parasites in the water.
They cause a rash that takes on the appearance of pimples or blisters. Fortunately, these parasites can’t survive in people and die quickly. The rash will go away on its own, but it’s helpful to still treat the symptoms for your own relief. Some topical creams can help alleviate itching. Swimmer’s itch can appear immediately after swimming and may last up to two days after being in contaminated water.
Red Eyes
After swimming, you may experience red, itchy eyes. Many people think this occurs due to the chlorine in the water. However, this isn’t quite the case. The redness is actually caused by chlorine mixing with various bodily fluids that are in the water and they create compounds that irritate your eyes. To avoid red eyes, you should swim in clean water that is free of any organic matter and even dirt. Unfortunately, using public pools and even private pools that are used by many people means you can’t control what ends up in the pool. If you experience red eyes after swimming, flush your eyes with a saline rinse.
It may be irritating to deal with these issues, but often they just come along with the activity. If you swim a lot, you need to know how to deal with these issues when they arise. They won’t cause you serious harm, but it’s good to know how to find relief when you swim.
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