Swimming and Asthma
Sunday July 12, 2009
Swimming is one of the great summer pastimes and has been long thought of as a great exercise for asthmatics.
Swimming is promoted as an exercise for people with asthma because you breathe in warm, moist air rather than the cold, dry air that may trigger asthma symptoms. Swimming can also help you develop good breathing practices.
Recent research, however, has indicated that some of the byproducts of chlorine can significantly contaminant the air around swimming pools. Not surprisingly, people using indoor pools seem to be more affected.
While more study needs to be done before your doctor tells you to stay away from the pool, I wanted to know what your experience with asthma and swimming pools was? Please take the quiz and leave a comment.
Swimming is promoted as an exercise for people with asthma because you breathe in warm, moist air rather than the cold, dry air that may trigger asthma symptoms. Swimming can also help you develop good breathing practices.
Recent research, however, has indicated that some of the byproducts of chlorine can significantly contaminant the air around swimming pools. Not surprisingly, people using indoor pools seem to be more affected.
While more study needs to be done before your doctor tells you to stay away from the pool, I wanted to know what your experience with asthma and swimming pools was? Please take the quiz and leave a comment.
Comments
Hi Pat,
While there has been research suggesting a link between chlorine and asthma, more recent research concluded there’s not enough evidence to support the link. There’s a great post on Asthma Mom (http://bit.ly/idlIC) on this topic, which I would encourage you to read. Chlorine still remains a necessary component in making sure our pools stay clean.
Best Regards,
Jeff
Jeff Sloan
American Chemistry Council