Another swimming pool question

[Guest guest]

Is the sensitivity to the chemicals in the pool water something that

as Tobias heals will become better? I guess I am asking if we hold

off with his swimming for a year or so untill we have more healing is

there a good chance that he will be OK with it?

Does the clorinated water that we drink and shower in make him more

reactive? We have a filter on our kitchen cold water but I don't

think it does a lot other than make the water taste better.

Sandy M.

Whole family SCD in support of 5 yr old who raged.

[Guest guest]

I personally think the risks/benefits really need to be balanced here

with regard to swimming lessons for our kids. The reality is that

drowning is the number one cause of death for autistic children.

Some kids have really bad reactions to the pools, some have reactions,

that while unpleasant, can be tolerable in order to provide the

lifesaving skill of swimming, as well as the social benefit.

It may be worth it, if a child has severe reactions to pool water, to

spend a week or two this summer somewhere where there is a clean lake or

river for the child to learn to swim in.

This is coming from someone who is absolutely paranoid about the water,

and this paranoia has been passed down several generations. My great

grandmother's brother drowned in the local river when he was 12. My

g-grandma never taught my grandmother to swim so she is petrified and my

mom is a weak swimmer and was always scared when we swam as kids. As a

child, I sensed this and developed this fear myself, though I can swim

fairly well and took severl years of swimming lessons at a local lake.

My youngest child, 4 this summer, went under water 3 times the summer he

turned 2. Twice with a life preserver on (he couldn't keep his face up

out of the water) the preserver was actually more dangerous because it

brought his feet off the ground, once literally 2 feet from DH on the

steps of a friend's pool.

It can happen in the blink of an eye- all kids, but especially ours,

MUST learn how to swim. My 2+cents.

Becky

mom to Noah (6, HFA) and (3, NT)

SCD 2 1/2 months

[Guest guest]

Sandy,

I have read that a large part of the harm we get from the chlorine in our

household water supply is from breathing the vapors as it evaporates out of the

water, while bathing or showering.... moreso than from drinking it.

So, it might be a good idea to have a shower filter. I run my daughter's bath

through the shower filter, since I can't figure out how to put a filter on the

tub tap.

I know the chlorine off-gassing/evaporation is true in pools... you can smell it

in the air! If we had a pool at home, I'd definitely be looking into the

chlorine-alternative products. I don't know much about them... maybe there are

issues there, too... but it seems much preferable to breathing in all that

chlorine gas.

Patti, mom to Katera

Another swimming pool question

Is the sensitivity to the chemicals in the pool water something that

as Tobias heals will become better? I guess I am asking if we hold

off with his swimming for a year or so untill we have more healing is

there a good chance that he will be OK with it?

Does the clorinated water that we drink and shower in make him more

reactive? We have a filter on our kitchen cold water but I don't

think it does a lot other than make the water taste better.

Sandy M.

Whole family SCD in support of 5 yr old who raged.

[Guest guest]

" FWIW, we live in California where there is a pool at every house and

we live a mile from the beach. We will be there almost every day in

the summer so it really is a big aspect of our lives here. "

See, in 's situation, I would have to reconsider. Our situation

is totally different. No one in our neighborhood has an above-ground

or in-ground pool with water deeper than 3 feet. I realize that kids

can drown in any depth water, but my boys are tall enough that 3 feet

of water only comes up to their chests.

We live in the middle of Indiana, not near any beaches, except the

lake I mentioned that I would NOT swim in. So, swimming and being in

water is not part of our every day lives.

So, I think that each family has to do what makes the most sense based

on their situation. For us, swimming isn't a big deal. And both of

my kids understand not to go near water. For other people, this is

not the case.

Jody

mom to -7 and -9

SCD 1/03

[Guest guest]

With an emphasis on clean!! After my son swam (and swallowed lots of

water) in a local recreational lake, he had a MAJOR relapse in

diarrhea, asthma etc. Lots of nasty bacteria, parasites, toxins

and " stuff " hangs around in lakes these days- afterwards I looked up

the lake in question and found reports on the high levels of metals

from local industry and bacteria associated with raw sewage in the

lake compared with safe EPA levels. Google the lake's name before

swimming. That said, I still want my kids to be able to go play in

our creek or have fun at the lake (just not the above mentioned one!)

when we visit friends or swim in the pool at a pool party.

I appreciate the supplement tips for pool swimming- those are

helpful! Does anyone know what to take to keep bacteria and such at

bay while at a lake? My son still swallows lots of water in his

learning to swim stage plus I would think it getting in your ears

can't be good either.

Janet

> It may be worth it, if a child has severe reactions to pool water, to

> spend a week or two this summer somewhere where there is a clean

lake or

> river for the child to learn to swim in.