Sinus & Swimming

anon said:

I had a cold which turned into a sinus infection and have
been out of the water for nearly three weeks. The cold is
gone but the sinus infection lingers which causes drainage
that makes me cough uncontrollably quite often.

My question to the knowledgeable swimmers in the group: is
it advisable to go swimming under the described condition?
Will the chlorine cause more harm to my sinus predicament?

In my experience it will only help (subject to any concern
about spreading the infection to others etc.).

Quoted message said:

Thanks in advance for any advice.

"anon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had a cold which turned into a sinus infection and have
been out of the water for nearly three weeks. The cold is
gone but the sinus infection lingers which causes drainage
that makes me cough uncontrollably quite often.

My question to the knowledgeable swimmers in the group: is
it advisable to go swimming under the described condition?
Will the chlorine cause more harm to my sinus predicament?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I have had the same thing in the past, and tried both
swimming and not swimming. Swimming will clear your sinuses
for a while and give you temporary relief, but they block up
again later anyway. It didn't do me any harm, but I did feel
guilty about the amount of snot it deposited in the water.
Not swimming is just a matter of time, and eventually it
will clear as your antibodies eventually fight the
infection. If it is painful or persistent it is worth seeing
your doctor, as it can hang on for a long time and be quite
disruptive to normal life, and a quick course of antibiotics
can be effective if it is a simple infection. If it keeps
happening you definitely should see your doctor. Swimming in
the sea can help it clear quicker than in a pool, as the
salt in the water acts as a mild antibiotic, but if you're
in the northern hemisphere I doubt if it is warm enough yet,
and if you go in very cold water it is more likely to harm
you than do you good. If you do swim with it, don't expect
your performance to be any good, because it won't be, so
stick to easy stuff. Like any infection it pulls you down
generally. Get out straight away if you feel dizzy or sick
and don't force yourself on, and don't dive deep as this can
force infected mucus in to your ears and spread the problem.