Itchy skin after swimming

[johynr]]]]

Is it simply just due to the skin drying out or is it due to chlorine intolerance?

Does anybody know how I can treat the skin to ease the itching?

Thanks in advance.

[efdoucette]

I'm a guy but I use the most moisturizing soap I can find and I soap up well after my swim. Try Olay Ultra Moisture, "ultra" has got to be the ultimate, right! It actually knocked my itch down from an 8 to a 3, sanity came back.

[andyinnorway]

I think you will notice a big difference if you have a really thorough shower with a neutral shower gel before and after the swim. The chlorine will only activate on bacteria it finds on your body so if you have 'scrubbed' before entering the pool then you should experience much less irritation afterwards.

Its a bit harder in the UK as all the new pools have co-ed changing and no-one seems to shower very much at all, before or after. I think most pools have some privacy cubicles though?

[borate]

Originally Posted by johynr]]]

Is it simply just due to the skin drying out or is it due to chlorine intolerance?

Does anybody know how I can treat the skin to ease the itching?

To ease itchy, red, blotchy skin a recent suggestion from a reader of People's Pharmacy touts Aquaphor, "applied thirty-minutes before getting into the pool and again five minutes before the plunge."

After the swim, he washes with his usual soap.

[SeaMermaid]

I started swimming about a month ago. It quickly became more than just an activity for me. If I can't get in the pool at least every other day, I just don't feel good.
This opened up a whole bunch of issues for me. Mostly positive results. I swam 24 laps last Friday and was in heaven. I feel my stamina increased, my body toner; I look at my arms and legs and feel as if they are someone elses. I am toning up and feeling better.
My problem is itchy skin. I spoke to the pharmacist and she advised Aveeno and lotion. I never wore lotion in my life-never had to. I have also learned to be smarter about showering/water exposure. On the days I swim (wish it could be everyday) I don't shower until just before I go in the pool. When I get out, I wash, dry, put on lotion and call it a day. On the days that I don't swim, I limit my water exposure in the shower by just getting wet when I need to. No more long hot showers for me. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my hair. It's very long and a pretty color, but the chlorine is messing with it. I put on conditioner under my swim cap, as this is what they advised me to do at the desk at the fitness center. I'm dying to ask the swim team girls what they do, but I just can't muster up the guts. I am going to try and drink water now while I'm swimming (I see some of the swim team doing that) and now that I'm building up to hour long swims, I suppose it will help. Best of luck to you.

[sojomojo]

Originally Posted by SeaMermaid

My problem is itchy skin. I spoke to the pharmacist and she advised Aveeno and lotion. I never wore lotion in my life-never had to. I have also learned to be smarter about showering/water exposure. On the days I swim (wish it could be everyday) I don't shower until just before I go in the pool. When I get out, I wash, dry, put on lotion and call it a day. On the days that I don't swim, I limit my water exposure in the shower by just getting wet when I need to. No more long hot showers for me.

For itchy dry skin, I use Neutrogena Body Oil. It comes unscented and sesame scented. As a guy, I use unscented. I pour the Neutrogena into a 4-oz spray bottle and spray it on my skin after I shower. It absorbs fast so there’s no oily feel on the skin. My local Costco and the Nordstrom Rack carry the 32 oz bottles of the Neutrogena Body Oil for cheap, but unfortunately for me, it’s the sesame scented body oil.

Originally Posted by SeaMermaid

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my hair. It's very long and a pretty color, but the chlorine is messing with it. I put on conditioner under my swim cap, as this is what they advised me to do at the desk at the fitness center. I'm dying to ask the swim team girls what they do, but I just can't muster up the guts.

If you’ve got a Sally Beauty store nearby, buy the Ion brand swimmer’s shampoo and conditioner. They always seem to have good deals on this brand, e.g., buy one, get one free. In addition to using swimmer’s shampoo and conditioner, I’ve found that using the Ion Swimmer’s Leave-in Conditioner before and after swimming helps keep my hair from getting destroyed by chlorine.

http://www.sallybeauty.com/leave-in-...efault,pd.html

[cpa_pfs]

I found this whole thread interesting and informative.

I have been swimming daily lately. But I am waking up itching and scratching. Unbearable.

I have never heard of showering BEFORE swimming. I don't understand why you would do that.

But I am going to start using moisturizing lotion.

[andymark25415]

same condition with me as you saying.

[jafaremraf]

As well as itchy skin (I had quite a bad intolerance as a teenager with swellings in my hands and face, though a bit better now) I also have started to get flaking/peeling nails - any recommendations?

[Raini]

My skin would be itchy and red after I first started swimming regularly 16 months ago but it's not a problem now as my skin just got used to it. What did help at the beginning was to shower immediately after getting out of the pool and use an unperfumed lotion while my skin was still damp to seal the moisture in.
For my nails which used to peel I would rub olive oil into them before going to bed but like my skin they have got used to the pool water as well.

cpa-pfs
All the pools I have been to request that people shower before swimming for hygiene reasons. Sweat, dead skin, hair products and perfume (some people swim doused in it!) all come off in the pool making it dirtier increasing the need for chlorine.