Can You Go Swimming with Eczema?

Swimming is one of popular cardio exercises. Many people love it a lot, because it is not only helpful to keep you active and great for your heart, but also can help relieve stress and provide other health benefits. But if you have eczema, you may worry that you cannot go swimming. What is your best choice? Here are pieces of information about this issue.

Though experts have categorized eczema into a group of non-allergic disorders, but there are certain things that can trigger the flare-up of this chronic skin problem. And these can vary from person to person.

Experts say that his skin disorder is more likely to recur and also is actually incurable, but there are plenty of options to prevent the flare-up. In other words, it should be able to be managed and controlled.

Whatever the trigger factors of your eczema, the best way to cope with the problem is by avoiding the trigger factors. The following things and conditions are commonly considered can have an effect in triggering the flare-up of eczema and also can make the symptoms get worse [1].

This kind of emotional problem is not the cause of eczema. But it can worsen the symptoms. Even for some, it can be a trigger factor of the flare-up.

Losing a carrier, divorce, and death of someone you love a lot or other painful events can lead to high stress which then can trigger thee flare-up. For in-depth information about the link between stress and eczema in adults, visit this section!

Rough clothing, soaps high in alkaline (this kind of soap can dry the skin), perfumes, some cosmetic products, smoke of cigarette, solvents, detergents, synthetic or woolen fabrics are commonly considered as irritants for people with eczema.

However, there irritants also can vary from sufferer to sufferer. Over time, you should be able to know which things that can be irritants and worsen your eczema.

If there is a thing that your body can over reacts to it, it is called as allergen.

For most people, most allergens are harmless. But it can be different if your body has an allergy to something.

If you have a specific allergy, your body (particularly your body immune system) can be too sensitive and overreact to the allergen. This can lead to some changes in the body what we call as allergic reactions.

Many people with eczema find that there are some allergens that can trigger the flare-up or worsen the symptoms. And like in irritations, these allergens also can vary from person to person.

But in generally, the following are some allergens for eczema:

1. Certain foods, such as gluten.
2. Fur, feathers, or skin of animals.
3. Pollen.
4. And dust mites.

Swimming is one of ways that can help you relax and improve the health of your heart, as noted before. But if you have eczema, you may worry that chemical properties in the swimming pool can harm and irritate your skin.

There is nothing wrong with this worry since most people with eczema are genetically born with dry skin. Furthermore, their skin can be more sensitive than average.

Chlorine is the most common disinfectant that can be found in many swimming pools. It is commonly considered safe for skin of most people. But for people with eczema, it can be a potential irritant. Therefore, it’s worth to find information about which pool that uses chlorine.

Are there any pools without chlorine? There are a few pools treated with ultraviolet radiation or ozone gas. These pools are not 100 percent free from chlorine – but they usually contain a smaller amount of chlorine.

Other choices are pools treated with Baquacil & Copper/Silver Ionisation (100% free from chlorine), but unfortunately they are rarely used alone since the effectiveness of them to treat water can be very poor for large pools.

You can also find some pools treated with Bromine-based disinfectants. Like chlorine, these disinfectants are also powerful to treat water of swimming pool. But if compared with chlorine, bromine-based disinfectants can be more likely to trigger & cause skin irritation.

The good news, most people with this skin disorder should still be able to go and enjoy swimming as long as they know exactly what they have to do before and after swimming.

In other words, there are some pre-cautions you need to concern carefully to reduce your chance of getting a flare-up of your eczema. To keep safe, consult & talk with your doctor for more guidance.

In general, the following are a few general pre-cautions you need to know [2]: