You might not think much about the chlorine used in pools during the summer. You know it’s necessary to kill bacteria in the water and make the pool safer for everyone to enjoy. However, many people don’t realize that there is a connection between chlorine and asthma.

More than one-fourth of the United States Olympic swim team reported in 2000 that they suffered from one form of asthma or another. Due to the large number of athletes with this disease, research was conducted and the results were alarming and surprising to many.

Doctors have long known how chloramines and trihalomethanes (THMs) can aggravate asthma and its symptoms. Recent studies have shown these same chemicals may actually cause a previously healthy person to develop asthma. Most people don’t know how often they are exposed to these chemicals.

What does this have to do with swimming pools, you might wonder. Chlorine forms THMs when it is combined with organic substances (hair, water-borne bacteria, and sweat, among others). Included in the list of THMs is a substance called nitrogen trichloride. This has been found to be the main culprit in many instances of asthma. The good news is the asthma symptoms can be dramatically improved if exposure to this chemical is removed.

Does this mean you can’t go swimming this summer for fear of bringing on an asthma attack in either you or your child? Actually, you are exposed to these same chemicals every day in your home because municipal water uses them. Every time you shower, wash your clothes, wash dishes, or run water you’re exposed.

What can you do when swimming pools are expected to keep chlorine to a concentration level of 1-3 parts per million and municipal water systems use much higher levels than that? One thing you can do to reduce your exposure to these harmful chemicals in your daily life is to improve the air quality of your home by using a whole house water filter and a shower filter.

As far as your child’s favorite summer activity is concerned, you don’t have to keep them from the pool entirely. Minimize their exposure to chlorinated water in swimming pools. Look for a swimming pool that uses an alternative to chlorine such as ozone, ultraviolet technology, natural salt, or biguanide chemicals. If these aren’t available, you may want to consider alternative ways to help keep your child occupied during the summer.

Parents have long considered swimming pools to be safe because the water quality is strictly tested. What they don’t realize is that the very chemicals used to kill bacteria in the water may be making swimmers sick. The chlorine and asthma connection is there. Now you have to decide what you’re willing to do about it.

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