Could swim lessons be literally making my toddler sick?

[LoveBWVVBR]

My 2.5 year-old was one of those kids who rarely got sick. Suddenly she has a bad virus every few weeks. She's been exposed to other kids right along, so this isn't something that started when she started lessons/activities/school or something. Right now, she's running a fever, is terribly congested, etc. She just had the same symptoms like 2-3 weeks ago, and probably a month before that also. I keep taking her to her ped., and he keeps saying the same thing - it's another virus.

My question is whether or not swim lessons could be making her sick somehow. She started them in March, and she goes 4 times a week. All the viruses started after she started the lessons. Could the pool be dirty and that's causing the illnesses? It's used for a lot of childrens' lessons and several adult lessons/classes per week. Am I just being paranoid? Sometimes the pool looks cloudy, and one of my friends is always so grossed out by the way that it looks (her DD is also in lessons). I never thought that it looked really dirty, but who knows now?

 

[Spinning]

could be....or it could just be that time of year/life where they pick up more germs.
Last year at our pool the Coxsackievirus broke out at our local pool where my DD was taking dive lessons. It took a long time for her to develop symptoms that were concret enough to know...wasn't until the sores on the throat showed up.
She was tired, ran fevers off and on and just not her usually perky self. The Doctor said she was figting it off for awhile till her body couldn't any more.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

could be....or it could just be that time of year/life where they pick up more germs.
Last year at our pool the Coxsackievirus broke out at our local pool where my DD was taking dive lessons. It took a long time for her to develop symptoms that were concret enough to know...wasn't until the sores on the throat showed up.
She was tired, ran fevers off and on and just not her usually perky self. The Doctor said she was figting it off for awhile till her body couldn't any more.

Yikes! I'll have to look this virus up. Is it just something that needs to run it's course, or is it worse than that? I only know that my DD was always a very healthy kid before she started lessons, and now she's sick off-and-on all the time. She's always been around tons of other kids too, so it's not like she lived in a bubble before lessons. I just don't know what to think. I should mention that the pool has been closed several times due to "filter problems" and "pump problems" since we've started lessons, too.

 

[golfgal]

Pull her out of the swim lessons and see if she improves. She is also just at an age where kids start getting sick more often. Getting colds/viruses doesn't mean they aren't healthy--it is just a natural part of life and the more they get as preschoolers the less they will get when they are IN school.

 

[Disney Doll]

Keep her out of swim lessons for a while and see if it clears up, then put her back and see if it starts again.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Pull her out of the swim lessons and see if she improves. She is also just at an age where kids start getting sick more often. Getting colds/viruses doesn't mean they aren't healthy--it is just a natural part of life and the more they get as preschoolers the less they will get when they are IN school.

I totally agree with this! I'd MUCH rather her get sick now than when she's in Kindergarten. She starts preschool in August, and I expected more colds and viruses then just because she hasn't been exposed to that particular group of kids (and their particular germs) yet. I am just surprised that she's getting so many viruses all of a sudden when she's not really exposed to any more germs than usual. The pool was the only thing that I could come up with. Maybe it really is just her age

 

[Angelhalo]

I remembered my BFF having the same issue with her son so I asked her and here's what she said:

Jason took lessons for 2 months. EVERYTIME he went to a lesson he would end up sick a couple of days later. I skipped a lesson and he was fine those weeks, then he went back and two days later he was sick again....so, I think the answer is yes.

Also, he NEVER gets sick in our pool at home.

 

[JessicaR]

I totally agree with this! I'd MUCH rather her get sick now than when she's in Kindergarten. She starts preschool in August, and I expected more colds and viruses then just because she hasn't been exposed to that particular group of kids (and their particular germs) yet. I am just surprised that she's getting so many viruses all of a sudden when she's not really exposed to any more germs than usual. The pool was the only thing that I could come up with. Maybe it really is just her age

Is it possible she has a chronic sinus or ear condition that is exacerbated by the pool water and possibly the reason for her continuous viruses. Could just be that she is being exposed to new illnesses that have nothing to do with the pool.

Either way since your Mommy radar is going off I wouldnt ignore it. I sure hope she feels better soon.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I remembered my BFF having the same issue with her son so I asked her and here's what she said:

Jason took lessons for 2 months. EVERYTIME he went to a lesson he would end up sick a couple of days later. I skipped a lesson and he was fine those weeks, then he went back and two days later he was sick again....so, I think the answer is yes.

Also, he NEVER gets sick in our pool at home.

Weird! I wonder what is in the pools that can make kids sick The strangest thing is that this pool is actually at a hospital complex, so I was sure that it would be super clean. My daughter is making so much progress in these lessons that I'd hate to move her to another place. I may have to, though, if I do find out that something in the pool is making her sick.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Is it possible she has a chronic sinus or ear condition that is exacerbated by the pool water and possibly the reason for her continuous viruses. Could just be that she is being exposed to new illnesses that have nothing to do with the pool.

Either way since your Mommy radar is going off I wouldnt ignore it. I sure hope she feels better soon.

Her sinuses are fine according to her pediatrician (that was the first thing I asked about when she got the first virus). Her ear tubes are still in and functioning, so she shouldn't be having any ear issues either. Those get checked pretty frequently between follow up visits to the ENT and the ped., so they would spot an ear issue quickly. The viruses seem more respiratory in nature so far anyways. It's so weird. It almost seems like the exact same bug over and over again every few weeks. I don't see how that's possible, since the body should develop an immunity after the first time??

 

[RitaE]

Weird! I wonder what is in the pools that can make kids sick The strangest thing is that this pool is actually at a hospital complex, so I was sure that it would be super clean. My daughter is making so much progress in these lessons that I'd hate to move her to another place. I may have to, though, if I do find out that something in the pool is making her sick.

I don't know if the pool water is what IS making your daughter sick, but I agree that it can make people sick.

Didn't they close most Public pools during the Polio years to prevent the spread of the virus?

My son once developed the Mother of all ear infections which ended up with IV antibiotics and the bacteria being cultured. They traced it to a Holiday Inn swimming pool he had been in a week earlier.

 

[TomLovesBecky]

Chlorine makes me cough, gag, and wheeze. I don't have asthma but I am VERY sensitive to chlorine, it always makes me have breathing problems for a day or two. Maybe they are using tons of chlorine because of their pool problems? Besides that, cloudy water is gross and not normal at all and I would not let my kids go in water that looks like that, yuck! I never heard of lessons 4 times a week for a kid that young, what do they teach them, just curious??

 

[jodifla]

Weird! I wonder what is in the pools that can make kids sick The strangest thing is that this pool is actually at a hospital complex, so I was sure that it would be super clean. My daughter is making so much progress in these lessons that I'd hate to move her to another place. I may have to, though, if I do find out that something in the pool is making her sick.

Hey there....in Fla., it's SO important to have your daughter pool safe, so I'd try to continue the lessons if you can.

I know of a good swim school over in Coconut Creek if you are interested!

(You're in that area, right??)

 

[Geoff_M]

Didn't they close most Public pools during the Polio years to prevent the spread of the virus?

That had nothing to do with the pools themselves. When Polio outbreaks occurred, anything that was likely to cause kids to congregate and risk spreading the virus among themselves was canceled. Probably the most extreme example was when the Boy Scouts canceled their planned 1935 National Jamboree on the Washington DC Mall due to a Polio outbreak in the DC area. They didn't want to risk the tens of thousands of scouts that were about to come to the nation's capital to pick up the virus at the Jamboree and then take it back home with them, all across the country, and spread it further.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Use of indoor pools can cause respiratory problems in both kids and adults. The issue seems to be that chorine reacts with biological material in the pool which then gives off a gas in the air and because it's indoors, affects people's lungs. This causes an irritation in the lungs which could then, in theory, make people more susceptible to viruses. Some indoor pools are beginning to use ultraviolet light and other things in place of chlorine because of this. I'll see if I can find an article about it.

http://www.swimmingpooldehumidifier...-swimming-pools-linked-to-breathing-problems/

http://www.achooallergy.com/blog/toxic-pool-chemicals/

http://www.medicine.org/environment_and_your_health/indoor_swimming_pools_can_be_dangerous

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/general/control_chloramiines.html

 

[PghLybrt]

Use of indoor pools can cause respiratory problems in both kids and adults. The issue seems to be that chorine reacts with biological material in the pool which then gives off a gas in the air and because it's indoors, affects people's lungs. This causes an irritation in the lungs which could then, in theory, make people more susceptible to viruses. Some indoor pools are beginning to use ultraviolet light and other things in place of chlorine because of this. I'll see if I can find an article about it.

[]

Very true. Unfortunately most regulations require a level of chlorine in public pools. I never go in public pool and definitely not hot tubs (this includes all of Disney and water parks!)

It always gets me that people feel that buying cheap stuff for their pool is ok, no big deal. The truth is you can get very sick! Sorry off topic rant , personal pet peeve.

 

[Spinning]

It is actually a very normal childhood illness that just needs to run it course.
My kids are in public pools year round from the time they were babies. This was the only time we had any issues that we could relate to the pool......Most people who get it think they just have a really bad sore throat. The fever will come and go for a few weeks and the tiredness was tough.....but she is fine....
I don't know anything about tubes in the ears but I thought years ago they weren't allowed to be sumerged under water with tubes? Has that changed?

 

[breezy1077]

The pool water is cloudy? Doesn't sound right to me - I wouldn't get in cloudy pool water. I was a lifeguard for 4 years and never saw cloudy water. Ask if they test the water and how many times a day do they test the ph levels.

 

[PghLybrt]

The pool water is cloudy? Doesn't sound right to me - I wouldn't get in cloudy pool water. I was a lifeguard for 4 years and never saw cloudy water. Ask if they test the water and how many times a day do they test the ph levels.

Clear water does not mean clean, just as cloudy water does not mean unsanitary!

 

[breezy1077]

Clear water does not mean clean, just as cloudy water does not mean unsanitary!

I agree with you there. I've been in too many swimming pools for too long that I can actually tell if the chlorine levels are off. And your right, clear does not mean clean. There's nothing more disgusting than getting in a pool and realizing the levels are off - gross.

I might disagree with you on the cloudy part though. The only time I saw cloudy water was right after a shock treatment