With summer at its peak, a splash in the blue is what many would be craving for, waiting for the weekend to jump into the neighbourhood swimming pool. A swim can leave you relaxed and refreshed. However, swimming pool skin infections are a reality, too.
Regular swimmers would have noticed how the skin gets dry and itchy after a few laps in the pool. But just a few precautions can help prevent damage to your skin while swimming.
Swimming is good for skin
Swimming has multiple benefits — physical, physiological and psychological. Fitness benefits apart, it also enhances skin health.
“Swimming keeps you fit and healthy,” says Dr Sachith Abraham, a consultant dermatologist at Dr Sachith’s Skin Clinic, Bengaluru. “A healthy body will reflect as a clear and healthy skin because internal health and skin health are interlinked.”
Rujulal B Naik, a swimming coach from Pune, adds: “If you have been swimming for several years in cold water, the skin remains tight and gets less wrinkled.”
Skin damage from swimming pool chemicals
In largely overpopulated cities, public swimming pools require extensive disinfection each day. Most pools use certain chemicals for cleaning the pool water.
“The chemical commonly present in pool water is chlorine,” says Dr Poonam Wadhwani, a dermatologist and cosmetologist from Mumbai. “It acts as a disinfectant. Other disinfecting techniques include ultraviolet cleansing, using the bromine and ozone method. These chemicals affect the eyes, causing redness and watering. They can affect the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing. The teeth can get brittle and sensitive as well.”
Naik adds: “Copper sulphate is used to kill the algae that grows in some pools. It also makes the water in the pool appear blue. The ideal pH in swimming pool water is between 7 and 7.6. If it is less than that, water becomes acidic and starts causing eye irritation and dry and itchy skin.”
Pool water can seriously damage the skin, too.
“Skin, hair and nails get drier and lose shine and lustre,” says Dr Wadhwani. “Rashes can be seen on the skin, causing itchiness. The natural protective oil barrier is ripped off and leads to flaky and peeling skin.”
Swimming pool skin infections include swimming xerosis and contact dermatitis. They occur because of chlorine.
“The skin is generally protected by sebum — the natural oil content maintains the moisture content of the skin,” says Dr Wadhwani. “Xerosis is when there is malfunction in this or when the sebum content is lost from the skin layer [stratum corneum], leading to severe dryness, itching and scaling of the skin.”
Dr Abraham says: “Contact dermatitis in swimmers is due to allergy to swimwear or goggles. The common culprit is rubber, but chlorine can also cause dermatitis.”
How to minimise skin infections
Several measures can be taken to reduce the effects of chemicals and protect against swimming pool skin infections and hair damage.
“It’s better to take a shower after the swim,” suggests Naik. “Trying not to use soap is advisable, because if the water is acidic or not of the correct pH level, it makes the skin drier and itchy, causing irritation. Thus, moisturising is the solution — and one can use petroleum jelly for moisturising.”
Dr Abraham suggests: “Apply a moisturiser like petroleum jelly or any thick moisturiser before entering the pool. This helps to create a barrier. Drink lots of water. Apply a strong sunscreen lotion before entering the pool. Apply lip balm to prevent lips from chapping.”
Dr Wadhwani says: “Apply oil on the hair to prevent it from dryness. Use a shower cap. Apply a cuticle protecting cream or oil around the nail beds and cuticles to prevent peeling and damage to the nails. Avoid staying in the damp clothes to prevent fungal infection. Avoid a too-hot shower and harsh soaps post-swim.”
Takeaways
- Regular swimming keeps the skin tight and prevents early skin wrinkles.
- The commonly present chemical in swimming pools is chlorine, which is used as a disinfectant but also causes skin infections (xerosis and contact dermatitis).
- Applying moisturiser on the skin, oil on the hair, a cuticle protecting cream or oil on the nail before the swim and showering after the swim are among the necessary preventive measures to maintain good skin health.
