Dry Burning Skin

[ronnier]

I'm swimming every day and also teach 2 times a week (had to cut back due to dry skin). I seen a skin doctor about my problem and said to change clothes detg, wash w/senitive skin soap, using Ammonium Lactate lotion and now due to my skin burning and feeling tight I'm using Eucerin Plus Healing lotion as much as possible and had to cut back on swimming all together. Can anyone help me ? I know there are swimmers and coaches in the water more than I and what do you do to keep from having this problem. At first to pool I go to was keeping there chlorine @ 5ppm but this problem is better now they have a automatic type. Coaches that have the Endless pools are you having this problem also or is it the chemicals in the public pool making it worst. Thank you for helping if you can relate to this problem...Thank God for TI.

Ronnie

[Rhoda]

Here in Calgary where it gets dryer than the Sahara on cold winter days (literally), we've learned to apply lotions and creams immediately after showering when the skin is still slightly damp. This seals the moisture in.
Some creams that have worked for me are: Glaxal Base cream, George's Dry Skin cream (that one might only be available in western Canada), and the Body Butter series of creams from the Body Shop. Lotions are somewhat less effective. A small paint roller might help you with getting the stuff onto parts of your back that you can't reach.
Another thing you might try is to use skin lotion to wash with instead of soap. I haven't tried this myself, but I'm told it works well. Just be careful not to slip on the tiles if you get any on the soles of your feet.

[RadSwim]

Our pool converted for chlorine to salt/chlorine system 4 years ago. I has made an enormous difference, reducing both skin dryness and eczema. My eczema returns with a vengeance when I am out of town and swim in a chlorine sanitized pool. If there is a salt/chlorine pool in your area, give it a try.

Good luck,
RadSwim

[samenic2]

Its probably old hat to many swimmers but a tip l was given at my first TI lesson, to combat swim-skin related problems,was to have a water shower and get really wet before getting in the pool.The pores of your skin fill up and form a barrier discouraging chlorine etc.. from affecting the skin surface.Works every time.

[shuumai]

Originally Posted by samenic2

Its probably old hat to many swimmers but a tip l was given at my first TI lesson, to combat swim-skin related problems,was to have a water shower and get really wet before getting in the pool.The pores of your skin fill up and form a barrier discouraging chlorine etc.. from affecting the skin surface.Works every time.

Really?! I heard that about hair, but not skin.

Until now I was doubting that it helped. I started to think that hair would absorb as much chlorinated water as before, only faster, like a damp sponge picks up spills more easily than a dry sponge.

(I guess I will rinse myself down every time now. I usually only shower first if I didn't just come from home where I just had a shower. There is also the added benefit of getting a chill so that the cool pool feels relatively warmer.)

[Folala]

I have to agree with Samenic on this one. Your skin is at its most absorbent when it is dry, it's up to you whether it's going to be the shower water or the pool water. Once the skin has absorbed some moisture, it tends to keep it and prevent further build up.

I always drenched myself under a shower before going in. It's more hygienic for everyone too.

[wavelengths]

"A small paint roller might help you with getting the stuff onto parts of your back that you can't reach."

Try this for applying lotion to your back:

http://www.backbliss.com/lotion-applicator/

I've used it for years and it works.

[CoachDave]

The shower before swimming DOES refer to the safety of others. It's not that you'll get infected, but deoderant, grease, makeup, and hair spray do a lot to mess with the chemical balance in a pool. When we got tough on enforcing these policies, it mae a significant difference in my underwater filming and my shutdown scrubbing.

[elskbrev]

Originally Posted by CoachDave

...deoderant, grease, makeup, and hair spray do a lot to mess with the chemical balance in a pool. When we got tough on enforcing these policies, it mae a significant difference in my underwater filming and my shutdown scrubbing.

I have noticed that my fair skin fares much better when I wear body lotion before and after swimming. Without it, I am sometimes beet red after an hour in the water. Now I feel guilty about the lotion as it helps explain why the pool sometimes has water that clouds up the goggles if it was not recently cleaned.

[Floater]

I used to have terrible dry skin until I switched to using old fashioned lye soap. I've tried all sorts of commercial body washes, moisturizing bars, etc. The problem is the commercial stuff is made out of detergents, even they call it soap it is actually a detergent bar, which can be irritating to some people. I'd suggest trying hand made real soap ( from lye and fats/oils ), and try that out for a week. You can generally get them online or at farmers markets or craft markets. A friend of mine uses Dr. Bronner's, and I think she gets it from Walgreens.

I also use a wash cloth and soap it up then use that in the shower. It seems to get more chlorine off my skin than just use the soap alone.

Then follow up with a fragrance free skin lotion that has glycerin as an ingredient. Glycerin attracts moisture from the air.