Water sports are healthy and fun. While self-cleaning is usually sufficient in cold lakes and flowing water, chemical disinfection is absolutely necessary in busy swimming pools.
In almost all public pools and also in private pools, chlorine is the method of choice to prevent the overgrowth of harmful germs and fungal infestation. Like fluorine, bromine and iodine, it belongs to the group of halogens and reacts with many other chemical elements. Chlorine itself is odorless, but the typical swimming pool odor that we all know is caused by a reaction of chlorine with urea, which is more abundant the more often bathers save themselves the trip to the toilet. This substance, which evaporates on the water surface and pollutes the air we breathe, is called trichloramine.
Many studies prove that it poses an increased risk of asthma, chronic bronchitis, allergies and dry skin. People with particularly sensitive skin, such as small children and patients with neurodermatitis, should therefore be careful and take a cold shower and apply lotion after a pleasant bath.
American researchers have looked into the question of whether chlorine compounds could also be carcinogenic. While there is little evidence of this, overall – if you follow all the rules appropriately – the health benefits far outweigh the small risks of going to the pool.
So enjoy the fun of swimming, but remain careful and follow the rules so that swimming promotes your health and does not put a strain on it.
Do you have questions about health? Write to OÖN doctor Johannes Neuhofer (dermatologist), who oversees this column with a team of doctors: Clemens Steinwender (cardiologist), Reinhold Függer (surgeon), Rainer Schöfl (gastroenterologist), Josef Hochreiter (orthopaedist), Werner Schöny (psychiatrist). Email: doktor@nachrichten.at
Source: Nachrichten
