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Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

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Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#301

Post by jaytaylor »

ham_sandwich wrote: post #67
crescentfresh wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> First off, every swimmer pees in the pool A friend expressed this to me once when I caught her peeing in the pool and I was honestly skeptical that "everyone does it" as I would have never felt comfortable doing that. Still don't.

When you’re in the water that much, I think you just end up getting desensitized to it. I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Teammates going to a corner and openly declaring “don’t come over here I’m peeing.” Coaches literally encouraging it, saying it’s not worth it to get out and miss a set when you can stay in the water: “your urine is just a tiny, minuscule fraction of the total volume anyways” When you…

I did swim team and high school and never peed in the pool. Getting out and dashing to the restroom was not a big deal in any way.

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#302

Post by tj-teej »

agrippanux wrote: post #298
tj-teej wrote: post #266

I see a lot of comments in these threads regarding the old idea of a red cloud to indicate someone has peed in the pool. This idea never dies and I think I know where it started... When I was a lifeguard, we had to test the pH levels of the pool water every few hours. This entailed taking a sample of water, adding a few drops from a dropper and noting the shade of red the sample turned. We would tell the kids that we…

I think you mean "I can recommend a summer job lifeguarding" :) I also was a lifeguard all during high school, and if it was financially viable at this stage in my life I would do it again.

You are very correct! Unfortunately it's too late to edit now..

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#304

Post by quickthrower2 »

deckar01 wrote: post #224
YeahSureWhyNot wrote: post #174

i get red eyes even from my shower, unless there is pee in the water pouring from the shower head, I dont know what to say.

The lack of salt in tap water is likely the cause of eye irritation and redness. The concentration of salt in tap water about 2% of human tears. The concentration in chlorinated pool water is closer to 30% of human tears. Perfectly clean and balanced pool water should be less of an irritant than tap water. https://www.aao.org/eye-health/ask-ophthalmologist-q/is-it-o... https://blog.hayward-pool.com/maintenance/how-mu…

If a salt chlorinator is in use then yes salt will tend to be added.

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#305

Post by iceninenines »

microcolonel wrote: post #192
eloff wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So safer to use outdoor pools if that's an option.

UVC sterilizers seem like another option I think, not sure how effective that is though, and I'm not sure of the availability of things like this.

It would sterilize water passing through the system, but not maintain ambient antipathogenicity. Typically, a diatomaceous pool filter, pool sweeper (like the old Polaris... the pool Roomba from the 1980's), chlorination and chemistry monitoring are needed.

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#306

Post by darkpuma »

Zenst wrote: post #201
keypusher wrote: post #47

Chlorine reacts with pretty much any organic compound (hair, sweat, skin, urine) to produce chloramine. And yes, while this is the thing that irritates your eyes, it's not to say that chlorine is harmless either. There is evidence for respiratory and organ damage from extended exposure to chlorinated pools. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4351252/

Makes you wonder about outdoor swimming pools (which would equally include water parks) that use chlorine. Given UV breaks it down, it would explain why outdoor pools that use chlorine, tend to have higher levels to counter the increased loss. Which makes you wonder about exposure, whilst out in the open, the levels of chlorine gas given off would be higher. So a sunny calm day, may well be the case of higher exposur…

I submit that on sunny calm days with no wind at all, an outdoor pool will still get more air ventilation than the vast majority of indoor pools because, despite the absence of wind, you'll still get convection currents in the immediate area of the pool (particularly because the deck will usually get quite hot as it bakes in the sun.)

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#307

Post by elyobo »

Off topic, so feel free to downvote, but I have a possibly related question that may find some answers here.

I generally have a dry scalp, and dry skin around eye brows and beard. I started swimming about five months back and these drastically improved. I cracked a couple of ribs in a cycling accident and had to stop... the problems returned. Back swimming again now and they're gone again.

The only info I can find online is of people complaining that pool swimming _causes_ dry scalp problems but I seem to be experiencing the opposite.

Any reasons why this might be the case?

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#308

Post by vorpalhex »

elyobo wrote: post #307

Off topic, so feel free to downvote, but I have a possibly related question that may find some answers here. I generally have a dry scalp, and dry skin around eye brows and beard. I started swimming about five months back and these drastically improved. I cracked a couple of ribs in a cycling accident and had to stop... the problems returned. Back swimming again now and they're gone again. The only info I can find on…

ph?

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#309

Post by wurst_case »

mchannon wrote: post #183

This article's full of problems. The first reason chloramine gets to be a problem is users don't shower before entering the pool. The amount of urine a swimmer can introduce into the water is small compared to the amount of urea coming off their unwashed body. Icelandic people religiously shower before entering their shared baths, and look on non-showering the way we might look at people not bothering to wiping their…

>users Tee-hee
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