Swimming help!

annieclayton12
annieclayton12 Posts: 9
in Fitness and Exercise
This is a strange one, I love swimming but I've developed something of a phobia about public pools. It stems from watching a woman applying body lotion BEFORE getting into the pool and then seeing the oily residue sat on top of the water when she swam past. That made me feel ill and now every time I think of going to the pool I get nauseous thinking about all the dirt that could be in the pool and not wanting to swim in all that (I told you it was strange :embarassed: )
Does anyone else have this weird fear, or are there any tips or techniques to help me? Any advice?

Replies

  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    I think the chemicals in the water take care of the nasty stuff?
  • annieclayton12
    annieclayton12 Posts: 9
    I'd hope so, but that thought doesn't help. Especially after seeing that
  • annieclayton12
    annieclayton12 Posts: 9
    Bump, anybody???
  • fausonk
    fausonk Posts: 41
    Is there a lifeguard or someone there? Most jurisdictions have a law that requires people to shower before they get into the pool to get that kind of stuff off.
  • annieclayton12
    annieclayton12 Posts: 9
    No, it's the pool at a private spa, I think there is no lifeguard because it's an adult only pool? I don't know if the law applies in the UK?
  • Krecob
    Krecob Posts: 86 Member
    As a swimmer of 15+ years you really dont need to worry. The pool chemicals are checked daily and there are regulations on them as well. If it isnt up to par they are required to close the pool. You can also tell when the chemicals need to be checked my the smell (personal experience). What you need to be mindful of are the decks and shower areas! I recomend wearing flip flops walking to and from the pool if available.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,455 Member
    Maybe seek the help of a Therapist for anxiety.

    Really, I'm a long-time swimmer. Life is dirty, not just a little oil in the pool. Wait till you see a Bandaid on the bottom....



    If you only knew what was in the food you get at restaurants.....




    You're welcome. :tongue: :flowerforyou:



    .
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    It's a skin lotion, is it going to damage your skin if you get any of it on your skin?

    But yeah it sounds like some sort of anxiety issue.
  • toddis
    toddis Posts: 941 Member
    Don't drink the water?

    I used to put conditioner in my hair prior to swimming, no cap for me bro!
  • TrishLG
    TrishLG Posts: 173 Member
    I went on Amazon and bought a small above ground pool with filter @ $125. It was 10' round and only 30" deep, so I scooped out the ground beneath it to make it a little deeper. Then I tied a rope on a nearby grapefruit tree, a loop around my waist and swam against the restraint like in swim practice. My strokes had the water moving in a set pattern. It was fantastic. I could swim straight for 45 minutes, didn't have anyone else's puke, pee, perspiration, or oil slicks on me when I got out. So there is a reasonable alternative to public pools. Later I added a solar blanket, so it would not loose heat overnight. I loved it.
    It was better than an inground for my purposes because I did not have to keep turning, kick off, two strokes, turn, etc.
  • harric88
    harric88 Posts: 82 Member
    Does anyone else have this weird fear, or are there any tips or techniques to help me? Any advice?

    I do now :D

    Serious response - at my gym you have to shower before you can enter the pool - maybe you should raise this with the staff there?!
  • BamsieEkhaya
    BamsieEkhaya Posts: 657 Member
    hahaa...been put off swimming pools b/c when I was 5 I developed chicken pox after my swimming lesson partner came in and had chicken pox - he didn't know, but being off school (I LOVED school then!) for 3 weeks, itching like hell and covered in calamine lotion made sure I NEVER went to another swimming lesson.!!

    I now just see germs when I imagine swimming pools ! phahah....then recently my best friend told me a story about having to scoop up a minors poop from the pool, close it down and add LOADS of chemicals !! - - no-no to swimming for a while !!

    (sorry I'm not much help....but I understand!)
  • MissJanet55
    MissJanet55 Posts: 457 Member
    If lotion is the worst thing you encounter in a public pool you're doing well.

    I try not to think too much about what might be floating around pools, and especially hottubs.. Same with restaurants. Thinking about it just wrecks the whole experience.

    Don't even get me started about people who don't wipe down the equipment at the gym. Thank goodness human beings are so resilient.
  • JingleMuffin
    JingleMuffin Posts: 543 Member
    long time swimmer, i wonder if maybe shes doing that with the lotionso the clorine wont get into her skin..

    the pool water goes in and out of everyones mouth that swims laps in that bad boy.
    i know its gross.. but i dont mind it.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I went on Amazon and bought a small above ground pool with filter @ $125. It was 10' round and only 30" deep, so I scooped out the ground beneath it to make it a little deeper. Then I tied a rope on a nearby grapefruit tree, a loop around my waist and swam against the restraint like in swim practice. My strokes had the water moving in a set pattern. It was fantastic. I could swim straight for 45 minutes, didn't have anyone else's puke, pee, perspiration, or oil slicks on me when I got out. So there is a reasonable alternative to public pools. Later I added a solar blanket, so it would not loose heat overnight. I loved it.
    It was better than an inground for my purposes because I did not have to keep turning, kick off, two strokes, turn, etc.
    Except for all the bugs and leaves and dirt that falls into it, birds that poop into it, as well as your own sweat and mucous and feces and urine (because you can't get every molecule off no matter how thoroughly you wipe.) When you get out of the pool you should take a bow and shout, "The Aristocrats!"

    Life is messy. That's what we have an immune system for. :)


    ETA: I'm still laughing at the part about scooping out the ground to make it deeper.
  • underwater77
    underwater77 Posts: 331 Member
    I swam my entire childhood and still train in the water to this day.

    I agree that you just want to control what you can - wear flip flops, etc.
    It's outdoor or indoor? I still have a very hard time swimming indoors.


    Regardless, as everyone else has said, door knobs are probably more concerning than pool water.
    Try your best to focus on counting strokes to keep your mind off of it.
  • wrentrotter
    wrentrotter Posts: 36
    Floating snot is what worries me most. I stay vigilant in the pool.
  • anifani4
    anifani4 Posts: 457 Member
    Definitely bring attention to the staff about this member putting lotion on before going in the pool. I belong to a private club also and they are very strict about showering before getting in the water....and hair must be covered too. It makes keeping the pool clean much easier if everyone complies. It is an adult only club so I don't have the concerns that children bring. Although 2 years ago I swear there was one women who leaked urine on her way to the shower. When she stopped coming, the odor in the pool room cleared up. I didn't even want to think about the possibility that she leaked in the pool. Ugh.

    As far as lifeguards: This pool does not have one. They do have a video feed from the pool room running constantly at the front desk where this is always an attendant. This was the only way to get around the life guard rule here in N. Y. State.

    You could "de-condtion" yourself. That is probably all a therapist would do for you. take it a step at a time for eg. go to the pool and put your feet in for 2 min. Increase that time, then stand in the shallow end. Then go deeper, until you can get past the anxiety.

    My dream is to have an Endless Pool in my house. I day dream about it all the time.

    TrishLG.... what an awesome idea. If I lived in a climate where outdoor pool could be used more than 3 months of the year I would consider stealing this idea.
  • Froody2
    Froody2 Posts: 338 Member
    Ha! Your watering hole is probably much cleaner than our local pool, which was closed recently when several faeces floater were found by some horrified members of the public. Luckily, I don't go to that one lol.

    It'd be a brave little E. Coli that would be able to survive the one I go to, though. Chlorine up the wazoo, lol.
  • Xiaolongbao
    Xiaolongbao Posts: 854 Member
    Seriously. All the germs you breathe every day. All the gross things that you touch (do some research on how many people don't wash their hands after using the bathroom). The least of your worries should be a swimming pool which will be loaded with chlorine.

    I just accept when I swim (which is around 4 or 5 times a week) I'm floating around in a mixture of sweat, pee and snot. Luckily our skin is pretty well designed to keep it all on the outside.
  • annieclayton12
    annieclayton12 Posts: 9
    Thanks for all your help, I guess I'm just over thinking things :embarassed:
  • slugkiller
    slugkiller Posts: 90 Member
    annie, i'm with you on the whole anxiety trip. it's really annoying, as i like swimming when i don't think about it but then every so often you see something that brings it all back again.... ewwww

    just give it some time to fade from your mind. do something else instead for a bit, then get back to it

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