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Indoor swimming is a great form of exercise, especially in the dark winter months when we're not exactly champing at the bit to freeze our tuckuses outside. But a "witches' brew" of toxic swimming-pool chemicals can lead to itchy skin, eye irritation, brittle hair, and life-threatening breathing difficulties, writes Gary Ginsberg, M.D., a toxicologist who teaches at Yale and the University of Connecticut Medical School, in E Magazine. The principal culprit? Chlorine, which is added to pools in the form of bleach to kill off bacteria:
Without a disinfectant like chlorine, swimming pools would be an infectious disease outbreak waiting to happen. The flip side is that chlorine is highly reactive; it not only kills bacteria, but also combines with organic chemicals coming from people's bodies, [such as] sweat and sometimes other excretions.
Volatile chlorine byproducts, such as chloramines and trihalomethanes, breeze out of the pool and into swimmers' lungs, which can lead to new cases of asthma, as well as the worsening of preexisting conditions. In addition to lifeguards at chlorinated pools, which European studies have shown have greater rates of asthma, children under the age of seven are most vulnerable, according to Ginsberg.
Here are his essential tips for pool swimmers of all ages:
1. Shower before entering the pool: Sweat will cause chloramine formation, but so will body lotion, deodorant, and hair gel.
2. Be vigilant: Cloudy water or a heavy chlorine odor are telltale signs of an out-of-control pool. If you can't see to the bottom from the deep end of the pool, don't go in. Report your concerns to the manager on duty, as he or she should know how to rebalance the pool.
3. Look for pools that use other forms of disinfection: Ozone has been safely used to kill pool germs for decades in Europe, says Ginsberg, but has seen limited use in the United States. They may exist in your neighborhood, however.
4. Swim when lane traffic is lightest: The less bodies there are in the pool, the less chloramine will form.
5. Practice common sense: If you or your wee ones are asthmatic, consider less indoor swimming and more time in other fitness environments. Pogo aerobics, anyone?
Difficulty level: Easy
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