Swimming issue - what the heck is going on?

Do you have any seasonal allergy problems? I've noticed the same thing over the past few weeks. It's getting cooler and dryer here, and my sinuses are trying to adjust to the change. Not sure if you've ever heard of a neti pot, but I use one early in the morning before I start the day and sometimes at night. Seems to help balance things back out. They take a little while to get used to, but hey you're a triathlete, you've been through worse, right?

good luck!

There's a semi-quick fix for it.  Go to a local drug store and buy a $10 neti pot, and perform a saline rinse twice a day when these things hit.

You'll be good to go.  I do this a couple of times a day due to allergies, and I almost never have congestion problems any more. 

Interesting, I'd never heard of that, I'll check it out today...thanks for the help!

Do you think you might be developing an allergy to chlorine or one of the other chemicals in the pool?

x3  on the neti pot.  works great, just takes a little getting use to it

Neti pot X4. I have the same problem and the neti usually reduces the symptoms dramatically. X2 on the allergy fix, and I used to get antibiotics for sinus infections about twice per year, but haven't had a problem in the past 2 and a half years after starting the neti.

Extra info that might help - I use about 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt (regular table salt is fine) per 2 cups of water. I get the water very warm but not hot - warm as I can very comfortably tolerate. One to two cups per nostril and I'm good to go.

Good luck!

-Kirk

It's actually OWSing that has resulted in the most congestion, so the chlorine/chemical thing doesn't appear to be a factor.  

I just got the Neti Pot and gave it a go--took about 30 seconds for my left nasal passage to clear, which is the side that has given me the most problems.  I'll keep with it, I do already feel a bit less congested...again, thanks for the quick responses and helpful suggestions!

 

This happened to me too.  It was very aggravating.  I think mine was mainly related to the chlorine, not so much an allergy but probably more of an irritation. 

I got congested after every swim and it lasted for most of the day.

I never found a great solution but I found swimming in the morning gave it time to clear so I wasn't congested while sleeping.  I also swam fewer days and backed down to 3 times per week.  Overtime it's improved (or either I've just learned to ignore it).

You could also try nose plugs

hey yeah, just keep with it brownie..I used to get congested all the time swimming in lots of different pools growing up but seemed to get used to it or my body just cleared it pretty quickly after swimming.

See what happens as your body adapts.