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You could try using GenTeal eye ointment. It creates a protein barrier over your eyes, so the chlorine will attack that before it gets to your actual eye. It can also help soothe your eyes afterwards. I haven't used it yet (too scared to go without goggles right now) but I've heard great things.
That's in the original post ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily
Oops, my bad! I saw Mermaid Galene's post on the "what's new" page and didn't think to check.
Also: I got my first chlorine rash yesterday, around my eyes and cheeks. Looked like a terrible sunburn. Guess my (admittedly delicate and fair) skin isn't as immune to chlorine as I'd first thought, or else my pool has started upping the chlorine levels to deal with all the summer swimmers. Time to invest in some TriSwim.
Galene, omigosh, I just saw your post- that's awful!! I'm so sorry D: Did you go to the ER? As it says in the thread now, if you have visual disturbances over 3 hours you REALLY need to go to a doc/ER! I hope your eyes are okay :( Sucks you had to cut your trip short too.
I have taken kelp tablets right after and the cold symptoms vanish if that's any help!
I seem to have escaped without major damage, fortunately. It was a difficult situation, because we were at least an hour and a half drive from any city big enough to have an ER with an opthamologist. So weighing all the options, we decided to drive home, figuring if my eyes hadn't gotten any better, we would go to our local ER at home (a place that we know well...sigh). The haziness had pretty much cleared by the time we got home; only burning and redness remained, so we decided to sleep on it. Today my eyes are just gritty and itchy. I read that mild to moderate corneal damage self-repairs within in 24-48 hours, so I think it's healing.
It was frustrating, because I did use Genteal gel before I went in the water, and I reapplied it 4 or 5 times during the video shoot. I also rinsed out my eyes with Bausch and Lomb eyewash after, but the damage was already done.
Wish we lived by the ocean; during my Gulf Coast swim, my open eyes were happy as could be underwater. But pool water is a different animal, and now I know my limits! From now on, goggles for every chlorinated swim. I'm never doing that to my eyes again.
My project for the day is to make or buy a mermaidish mask to wear over my goggles, which could actually turn out pretty cool!
Meanwhile, I did end up with a cold, which is only partly chlorine's fault. We went out with some friends last weekend, and one of them had a nasty cold, so I'll blame him. ;-) I'm going to try kelp tablets, Raina. is there a brand you particularly like?
We did get some usable video footage from my ill-fated pool swim, though I ran into buoyancy issues, which I'll post in the appropriate thread. And I had a delightful encounter with a Mom who fetched her two adorable little twin girls, dressed in pink just like my tail, to meet the mermaid. They were cute as a button and wide-eyed with wonder, and the Mom was absolutely thrilled! (They especially loved the purple hair.) She took one of our promo postcards, and it made me think, "Yeah. This IS gonna happen!" Can't wait until the gigs start rolling in. We're gonna LOVE this job!
Galene, I am so sorry that happened to your eyes. I hope you feel better now.
I don't do gigs, so I always take my googles while swimming. I have had kids asking if I am a mermaid, why do I need them? I tell them that I am fine with salt water, but human-made chlorine hurts my eyes. I also wear glasses (strong myopia, can't see a thing without them), and they asked about them too. I told them that I see fine underwater, but I see blurry in the surface, so I need them to see clearly.
That's what I did and I love it. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mermaid Galene
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...ght=masquerade
Does this apply to fabric tails?
I'm not too worried about what kids will think about the goggles or land glasses (which I can't do without, too). As you say, Talia, it's easy enough to explain them away. I mostly wanted some good underwater photography/videography without eyewear. What we got will just have to do!
This is some great information, and I'm seriously wishing it were more common knowledge. I royally screwed up my eyes as a kid -- Due to Les Parents work, we moved a lot and sometimes wound up staying in hotels for weeks on end while things got sorted out. Naturally, I spent 80% of that time in the hotel pool, fetching pennies off the bottom. I knew all that swimming made my hair dry and coarse, but I didn't realize the damage I was doing to my eyes until one night we sat down in the hotel restaurant and I happened to be facing the window -- the minute the light from the sunset hit me, My eyes began to burn, swelled shut and just poured tears. I literally could not open them. My parent were so pissed off with me!
Of course, now I look at that and realize I probably had pretty crazy chlorine damage, and could have lost my sight... but that's cool, getting angry at your ten year old for making a scene is probably the best way to deal with that, definitely...
I put sunscreen in my hair last week, my hair did not go crispy crunchy after my swim, though it was a bit tough washing it out. Had to shampoo three times then put my conditioner in for 10 mins as normal. Next week, I'll try the pure olive oil I bought from the grocer's.
Sorry to be posting on this thread so randomly, but I did not see this info anywhere else. As a mexican MOC (mer of color, lol), I deal with all of these issues, but also the IMMEDIATE visibility of ashy skin. I swim three days a week, and I find that the dry skin is actually visible on my face as soon as I take even a minor break between laps. Does anyone else deal with this? It is a cosmetic problem for parties and events.
I am a MONC (Mer of no color!), but because of the dryness of the desert and the hard water we deal with here, I get the ashy face thing when I swim too. I even get it from just showering, the water here is that bad. I'll have a line of white powdery-looking ash, typically around my lips. My solution for swimming is to put a light layer of oil on my face before I apply any sunblock. My favorites to use are almond and coconut, and sometimes I'll use a mixture of castor and almond oil. Castor oil is a cleansing oil, and can be drying, so adjust ratios accordingly. I do not get breakouts from this, in fact, it prevents breakouts from my sunblock.Quote:
Originally Posted by Carabosse
Ooh nice ideas … I was wondering how to explain away glasses…
I absolutely love the Malibu C shampoo/conditioner from SwimOutlet.com. It smells like lemon pie and works great using vitamin C @roguesiren
Quick unrelated question, is your name inspired by the book, "Forgive my Fins"?
Quick unrelated question, is your name inspired from "Forgive My Fins"?
Many good suggestions above. Janet Evans (Olympic swimmer) has said that she always wears a a swim cap when she does her pool workouts to protect her hair. Since she does multiple workouts daily, I decided to follow her advice. It has worked out O.K., and I only do maybe 3 to 4 workouts each week. My hair is straight and has grown to just south of my nipples. That's about as far as it's going to grow. And since I am not an entertainer or performer as many of you are on this network, I don't see the need to stop wearing my silicone cap. I know that wearing a cap detracts from the mystique of being a mer, but I do the mer thing for the fun and exercise, and that's about it. Are any of you regular or occasional cap wearers? Just curious. Don't know if I'm the odd-ball fish in the tank. :-)
I wear a cap when I swim non mermaid
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Yep! I always wear a cap when swimming.
I have to admit. I'm really confused when it comes to chlorine neutalization. I don't understand why some people recommend baking soda and others recommend vinegar. Now, chemistry wasn't my best subject, but one is an acid and the other is a base, so they would have opposite effects. Some places (like the OP) say that chlorine is acidic (hence baking soda neutralizing it), but chlorine bleach is basic, is it not? Is there a fundamental difference I'm missing? (I"m not being facetious, just honestly confused.)
And then there's the vitamin C option, which is ascorbic acid. Another acid, which would suggest that chlorine is basic.
I'm sorry if this has been covered. I've been reading all over the place and am still confused.
From what I was able to find out, the chlorine used in pools is an acid. Here's some stuff on chlorine and ph levels: http://www.pahlen.com/users-guide/ph-and-chlorine
However, if you're going to wash your hair with baking soda (which I've found to be effective), then you'll want to rinse with a diluted apple cider vinegar. The baking soda will shift the ph of your scalp and hair too much, the acv rinse will bring it back to a good ph.
If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
Chlorine is actually an oxidizer - the Chlorine molecule is highly reactive (likes to bond to) organic material (such as certain fabric dye and organic fabrics). This is why it 'eats' things. The BEST way to neutralize this is to use good old hydrogen peroxide. When you rinse the fabric (tail), use a bucket and dump like 1/4 a bottle of the peroxide (drug store strength) in the water and slosh around for a few minutes. The peroxide reacts and produces salt NaCl and plain water H2O. At worst, a TINY amount of chlorine gas is produced, but is so minute as to be a mute point. THEN rinse again with clear water. This also works for neutralizing any laundry treated with bleach (NaOCl)
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Getting my hands on it
Sorry if this has been touched upon, but I was born with congenital glaucoma and cateracts, and had many surgeries before I was eight years old, so my eyes are very sensitive. Currently, I close my eyes or use goggles, but if there’s anybody with similar eye issues who can recommend anything, please let me know. I’m also ok with accepting the fact that I’ll just never be able to open my eyes under water, if it means preserving what eyesight I have.
I'm not a fan of opening my eyes underwater, even in nonchlorine bodies of water, so I'll be decorating my goggles to make them more mer-like.
Just came to this really old thread. This is fantastic advice. Thank you, will definitely give it a try.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mermaid Bree
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