seasonal sniffling

[Janos]

Would like to do a quick straw poll of who caught a cold recently from swimming in a public pool as the season changes, and it turns a bit cooler?

Janos

[swim56]

I swam through a midwest, U.S. winter last year in an indoor pool and had no problems. But a number of years ago I swam for several months in a well-kept university outdoor pool, because of a running injury, and I got 3 "colds" in 3 months. As it turned out, the illnesses were likely sinus infections (bacterial) rather than typical colds (viral). The cooler water apparently gummed up the flow of my sinuses and allowed the overgrowth of bacteria, giving me cold-like symptoms. Antibiotics were required to clear up all three infections.

After the third bout, I crawled out of the pool and resumed running and had no further issues.

Tim

[Janos]

Thanks Tim, for an interesting reply. My symptoms have cleared up now, after three days of sneezing and pain in my sinus. I have to assume in my case it was a simple cold, although my symptoms are similar but not as long lasting as yours. I wonder whether the cause in my case is the cold water or the fact that there are more people with cold symptoms around this time of year, and they go to the pool too?

Janos