Swimming and nasal symptoms: pool and sea water exposure
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34631/sporl.3115Keywords:
Chronic Rhinosinusitis, swimming, seawater, pool waterAbstract
Chronic rhinosinusitis is associated with significant prevalence and affects the quality of life of many people. The aquatic environment, specifically seawater and chlorinated pool water, has an impact on this disease. This study investigates the effect of swimming in these two types of water on the onset or worsening the symptoms of this condition.
A cross-sectional study on a sample population of 55 swimmers, a questionnaire on symptoms was given and measurements of nasal flowmetry were taken before and after swimming, to objectively access the effects of water exposure.
The results in the participant samples indicate that in chlorinated pool water, there wasn´t an aggravation of sinunasal symptoms, whereas in seawater, an improvement was observed, and this effect was more relevant on participants with chronic nasal symptoms. This effect was confirmed when analyzing flowmeter results.
This study shows that swimming in chlorinated pool water, even when having sinunasal disease, water exposure does not trigger or worsen symptoms. It also shows that swimming in sea water had a significant positive effect on our sample population, mainly on those with prior nasal symptoms
Downloads
References
Fokkens WJ, Lund VJ, Hopkins C, Hellings PW, Kern R, Reitsma S. et al. European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps 2020. Rhinology. 2020 Feb 20;58(Suppl S29):1-464. doi: 10.4193/Rhin20.600.
Savouré M, Bousquet J, Jaakkola JJK, Jaakkola MS, Jacquemin B, Nadif R. Worldwide prevalence of rhinitis in adults: A review of definitions and temporal evolution. Clin Transl Allergy. 2022 Mar;12(3):e12130. doi: 10.1002/clt2.12130.
Almeida MM, Loureiro C, Todo-Bom A, Nunes C, Pereira C, Delgado L. et al. Avaliação da prevalência e caracterização da rinite em utentes dos cuidados de saúde primários de Portugal Continental - estudo ARPA. Rev Port Imunoalergologia Internet] 2005; 13 (1): 69-80. Available from: https://www.spaic.pt/client_files/rpia_artigos/avaliacao-da-prevalencia-e-caracterizacao-da-rinite-em-utentes-dos-cuidados-de-saude-primarios-de-portugal-continental-%E2%80%93%E2%80%93-estudo-arpa.pdf.
Helman SN, Barrow E, Edwards T, DelGaudio JM, Levy JM, Wise SK. The role of allergic rhinitis in chronic rhinosinusitis. Immunol Allergy Clin North Am. 2020 May;40(2):201-214. doi: 10.1016/j.iac.2019.12.010.
Bousquet J, Khaltaev N, Cruz AA, Denburg J, Fokkens WJ, Togias A. et al. Allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma (ARIA) 2008 update (in collaboration with the World Health Organization, GA(2)LEN and AllerGen). Allergy. 2008 Apr:63 Suppl 86:8-160. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2007.01620.x.
Kanikowska A, Napiórkowska-Baran K, Graczyk M, Kucharski MA. Influence of chlorinated water on the development of allergic diseases - an overview. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2018 Dec 20;25(4):651-655. doi: 10.26444/aaem/79810.
Head K, Snidvongs K, Glew S, Scadding G, Schilder AG, Philpott C. et al. Saline irrigation for allergic rhinitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jun 22;6(6):CD012597. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012597.pub2.
Surda P, Walker A, Putala M, Siarnik P. Prevalence of rhinitis in athletes: systematic review. Int J Otolaryngol. 2017:2017:8098426. doi: 10.1155/2017/8098426.
Deitmer T, Scheffler R. Nasal physiology in swimmers and swimmers' sinusitis. Acta Otolaryngol. 1990 Sep-Oct;110(3-4):286-91. doi: 10.3109/00016489009122550.
Bastier PL, Lechot A, Bordenave L, Durand M, de Gabory L. Nasal irrigation: from empiricism to evidence-based medicine. A review. Acta Otolaryngol. 1990 Sep-Oct;110(3-4):286-91. doi: 10.3109/00016489009122550.
Head K, Snidvongs K, Glew S, Scadding G, Schilder AG, Philpott C. et al. Saline irrigation for allergic rhinitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jun 22;6(6):CD012597. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012597.pub2.
Štanfel D, Kalogjera L, Ryazantsev SV, Hlača K, Radtsig EY, Teimuraz R. et al. The role of seawater and saline solutions in treatment of upper respiratory conditions. Mar Drugs. 2022 May 17;20(5):330. doi: 10.3390/md20050330.
Marioni G, Ottaviano G, Staffieri A, Zaccaria M, Lund VJ, Tognazza E et al. Nasal functional modifications after physical exercise: olfactory threshold and peak nasal inspiratory flow. Rhinology. 2010 Sep;48(3):277-80. doi: 10.4193/Rhino09.141.
Timperley D, Srubisky A, Stow N, Marcells GN, Harvey RJ. Minimal clinically important differences in nasal peak inspiratory flow. Rhinology. 2011 Mar;49(1):37-40. doi: 10.4193/Rhino10.097.
Rimmer J, Hellings P, Lund VJ, Alobid I, Beale T, Dassi C. et al. European position paper on diagnostic tools in rhinology. Rhinology. 2019 Jul 25;57(Suppl S28):1-41. doi: 10.4193/Rhin19.410.
Bernstein JA, Bernstein JS, Makol R, Ward S. Allergic rhinitis: a review. JAMA. 2024 Mar 12;331(10):866-877. doi: 10.1001/jama.2024.0530.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 João Subtil, Sofia Teles, Carolina Amaral, Francisco Pereira, Tiago Caneira, Tiago Costa, Carla Amaro
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
