How to deal with chlorine's negative effects

[AniaR]

Ask a pharmacist. I think it is no.

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[The MerArtist]

Mmkay. Thanks anyway.


✨The MerArtist✨

[Coradion]

If you're really worried about it just mix a small sodium thiosulfate solution. It's what you use to dechlorinate fish tanks but it much cheaper than the tap water dechlors.

[Echidna]

Sometimes after swimming in our local pool, the skin on my face is red and swollen and very hot.
It's almost like a sunburn, but it only appears several hours after swimming, and regardless of whether there was sunshine or not. (it's a lot worse if it was sunny though)

can this be a reaction to chlorine?
I've had red rashes on my shoulders/back sometimes after swimming in the indoor pool where all the kiddies swim, but those usually appear minutes after being in that pool and disappear rather quickly.

The sunburn-like one persists for days, is very painful, and I usually run a temperature to boot.
I just don't know what it could be, because as mentioned, it only occurs many hours after leaving the pool.

[AniaR]

yes it can be according to my dermatologist. I wash as quickly as I can with cold fresh water (helps with redness) and then I got a face balm used for irritated skin and it helps a lot. It can occur later because the chlorine is being absorbed into your cells just like you dont feel a sunburn until later

[Echidna]

good to know, thanks.

I really begin to hate chlorine.
I take so many precautions, shower so much after and even in between swims,
use swim spray and still I've loads of problems


oh, and btw.
Today they closed two of the pools and ordered everyone out because "reasons", then they took many samples.
My guess is someone took a dump and they checked for crypto, and when they didn't find any, they simply reopened the pools

[AniaR]

girl I feel you. I often look like I have a sunburn and it's just too much chlorine! I really do find though that eating healthy fats, vitamin e, and c before and after helps a lot.

[Echidna]

I was trying to convince myself it is a sunburn, but it was overcast all the time, so meh.
I'm probably very sensitive to chlorine.
The one time I dived a bit without goggles, I was nearly blind for 2 days after, and the chlorine level of the pool wasn't even that high.

I can't imagine how all ye pro mers are doing it all the time.

Addendum: confirmed it was a reaction to chlorine, as the "sunburn" vanished a few hours after bathing my face in cold water + putting on a healing salve.

so beware guys, on top of all the rest, chlorine can burn your skin.

[Raayvhen]

I'm pretty much terrified to swim without goggles. Especially since I wear contact lenses. The rest of my body however doesn't seem to mind chlorine too much. I never get chlorine burns.

[Blaze]

So I'm trying to swim more often at the gym and and making use of all the tips/tricks I can. My current problem is I can't seem to get the swim caps to work well enough for me. Either they are too small and I split them or they let water in. I saw a mention of a fabric cap under a silicone cap but I can't seem to find the info on how exactly to do it?

[Mermaid Galene]

Blaze, I have exactly the same problem. Swim caps just don't keep my hair dry at all.

[PearlieMae]

I've found that most swim caps will let some water in. Since my hair is so long, I got one that accommodates lots of hair (think Jiffy Pop!) and it seeps in by my ears. What I do is wet my hair first with fresh water and apply a dollop of conditioner, that way there's no room for the pool water to be absorbed and I get a deep conditioning at the same time!

[Blaze]

The problem is not wanting to wet my hair every time I swim. With my bright hair I go with once a week washing it if I can help it (Yes, I shower and take baths more often heh) and without styling after it gets wet it looks terrible the next day. I try and minimize styling as much as I can as well. If I can keep the longer parts of my hair dry and just deal with the roots getting wet I would be happier.

[PearlieMae]

Ahhh...I forgot about hair color...

Ponytail in a plastic bag under your swim cap, maybe?

[Mermaid Wesley]

It's gonna get wet *nod* i had a straightening treatment done once, I tried everything to keep it dry at daily swim practice and nope.


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[AniaR]

Blaze. Have you tried shampoo and conditioners that have your colour built in? I use a red shampoo and conditioner that has a bit of dye in it so when I put it in my hair it refreshes my colour

[Blaze]

Blaze. Have you tried shampoo and conditioners that have your colour built in? I use a red shampoo and conditioner that has a bit of dye in it so when I put it in my hair it refreshes my colour

Oh yep. After 18+ years of coloring my hair red (It was black for one month during that time... I don't know either lol) I've tried all of the things. ;D The color depositing shampoo I really liked got discontinued a few years ago and I'm completely out of it. If you happen to have a good suggestion on a brand I'd love to hear about it!

Still it's the wear and tear on my hair I'm concerned about rather than the color loss. My hair is happiest the less it's messed with and since it's messed with pretty heavily for burlesque shows I am hoping to minimize the 'daily' restyling.

[AniaR]

I hear that. Mine is shot no matter what I do it seems

[The Harlem Mermaid]

Thank you so much for all this important and helpful information!!

[Mermaid Galene]

I deserve a hearty "I told you so!" I've read all the chlorine threads and took the advice to heart, but I haven't been cautious enough. Today we did our first underwater video shoot in a chlorinated swimming pool, and though my eyes started burning immediately, I soldiered on through for another hour and a half. Result: chlorine burn conjunctivitis and possibly minor corneal damage. (My own diagnosis.) It took 5 hours before I could see without a milky white haze clouding my vision. Now I just have painful, bloodshot eyes and a constantly runny nose which has, I think, segued into a cold. We cut short our weekend trip to the north shore of Lake Superior partly so we could be near good medical care, if I need it. (Also because we got tired of the unstoppable tide of mosquitoes pouring from some unknown entry point into our rented condo.)

I had forgotten that, 30 years ago when I was in college, I got serious scratches on both corneas from poorly fitting contact lenses. As a result, there's scar tissue on my corneas, and I think those areas were particularly vulnerable to chlorine burn.

Methinks I will not be opening my eyes underwater in a chlorinated pool again! I will just have to decorate my goggles for gig swimming. Lesson learned.