Nausea after swimming (Read 11293 times)

No tips, but I've had similar after some sessions after time off. I just figured that I swallowed too much chlorinated water.

Blaine, you aren't supposed to swallow the water. LOL t_runner~ Have you tried 3 stroke breathing? It brings your head up on the opposite side, keeping your form a little better since you are able to maintain the rolling from side to side motion. It is good to breath from both sides but yes, some weirdos only breath on one side. How is your breathing? are you waiting too long and gulping in air? Sometimes when you go too hard, you end up gulping in air and creating uncomfortable gas bubbles that can make you feel sick.

I can't seem to breath from both sides. One side is ok. They other side, I just suck in water. I need to find some drills to help with this.

My dh is my coach...I'll ask him if he knows any drills for that. Maybe he'll see this thread and respond since he's recently joined RA.

Thanks.

t runner- The only nausea related to swimming that I have heard of is motion sickness caused during ocean swimming. I have a few theories you could explore. I believe that generally nausea is caused by something in your digestive tract (what you drink & eat) or a problem with the inner ear (oversensitivity to motion and/or a problem with the fluids in the inner ear). Only you can track what and when you ate. Your doctor could check for vertigo, etc. In the meantime a technical option is working on your stroke. I have two technical suggestions: 1) your head doesn't need to move during freestyle except when you breathe. Look at the bottom ahead of you and keep the waterline approximately where your hairline should be. This doesn't prevent you from rolling your body. Your neck just stays relaxed and acts like a swivel. A drill to practice to improve your roll is catch-up stroke, but it may give you an opportunity to stabilize your head a little between strokes too. It is hard to give advice on how to do a drill or analyze your technique in writing. May be you could sneak in one master's workout with a master's coach. Get there early and ask the coach to look at your stroke and describe your problem. Here's a couple links on nausea and swimming: http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/ViewMiscArticle.aspx?TabId=144&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&mid=196&ItemId=1473 http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=5649 http://www.google.com/custom?q=nausea&cof=S%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.usms.org%2F%3BAH%3Acenter%3BLH%3A80%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.usms.org%2Fgraphics%2Fusms200.gif%3BLW%3A196%3BAWFID%3A949d055463504885%3B&sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usms.org

I was gonna go with the inner ear/vertigo theory. Getting water in your ear and then sloshing it around can make things go woozy and can lead to nausea. The other thing I was thinking, besides swallowing funky pool water, was a post nasal drip caused by the chlorine in the water and in the air. That could also lead to a sick stomach. I hope you get it figured out. Swimming technique is tough to master, but stick with it, it's worth it when you get the hang of it and makes things a lot more enjoyable!

Oops, double post.

Truer words have never been written. T, do you get just nauseous, or do you feel like your eyes and balance are off? If you are queasy and your eyes feel like they are spazzing around and your balance is off, then I would definitely suspect vertigo/inner ear infection issues. I have chronic problems with this and it is really awful. But it's never just stomach upset...it always feels like my eyes are floating around and unable to determine up from down. k

Hey Kirsten - that sounds really awful! For me, it's just been nausea. I guess I can now say I am lucky compared to what you get! I may try to get out and swim tonight and be more conscious of where my head is, especially when I am going up to breathe. I also emailed the swim director at the rec to see if she knew of any adult classes or coaches that work there... Thanks all! T