swimming questions

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amber682

New member
Hi,  I'm a 25 year old mother of a 17 month old son with
CF.  I've read about how good swimming can be for CFers, which
I'm happy to hear because he already loves the water (my little
waterbaby). I'm wondering if it is safe for him to swim in
un-chlorinated water, like at a pond or lake, or even the baby pool
if it was filled the day before and is not fresh. Can anyone answer
my question? Thanks for your reply :)
 
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Allisa35

Member
I love too swim also, but I don't really know if it is unsafe to swim in unchlorinated water. I've never really thought about it. Back in my teenage years, I occasionally swam in a lake (called Twin Lakes). I don't recall it ever bothering me. Sorry I can't be of more help.
 
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JazzysMom

New member
If you do a search on this you will find tons of responses over time on this subject. I, personally, grew up swimming in lakes, brooks, ponds & chlorinated pools. We owned a lakehouse for years. Like anything else common sense falls into play. The exercise I believe out weighs any concerns, but that is IMHO!
 
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coltsfan715

New member
I have been swimming in lakes, rivers, oceans, pools and so on my whole life. I never really had a problem, but if you are concerned about bugs and bacteria I understand. There are tons of posts from people on the boards that think you are more prone to getting bacteria if you swim in lakes and things, but I personally do not know. Have you asked the doc what they thought? Maybe you could go to a local pool place and ask them about the chlorinated vs. unchlorinated pool water. They would probably have an answer for you.

Lindsey
 
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wanderlost

New member
Just to add, I was a competitive swimmer for about 10 years, all through high school. It did wonders for my health (never hospitalized - few people even knew I had CF) and I never had any problems from being around water, locker rooms, etc. I highly recommend swimming programs for CFers - in fact, I think there is evena book on the subject, though I would have to do some researcht o find the title and info.
 
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wanderlost

New member
I guess I didn't actually read your post very closely, as your child is 17 months and you aren't talking about pools - so I'll just keep rambling in saying that I also grew up around lakes and beaches, and again, no ill effects from that.
 
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Emily65Roses

New member
I've been swimming in pools, lakes, oceans, rivers, all sorts of junk my whole life. If he likes swimming, let him do it. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
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thelizardqueen

New member
I've been swimming in pools, lakes, water parks, etc all my life and I've never had a problem. I say go for it, if he loves to swim!
 
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amber682

New member
Thank you all so much for replying. I knew swimming was really good
exercise for anyone, even if they don't have CF. I love the water,
and was happy to find out my son does as well. (It is probably the
thing he enjoys most!) I just didn't know if the risks outweighed
the benefits or if it was more likely to make him sick than a child
without CF.  It hadn't occurred to me until he caught a little
cold that lingered a little too long and he had to go on
antibiotics and prednisone. He didn't culture anything but it was
the kind of thing like if he didn't start improving within a few
days he was going to have to be hospitalized. All our family
started asking us if he could have gotten sick from swimming in the
lake near our house a few times a week. It kind of freaked me out.
But, he's doing great now, no more meds, and no hospital. I
was kind of afraid to bring him back to the beach. Thanks for
easing my mind.   
 
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cfmomma

New member
We have a pool in backyard and it has done wonders for his health. He can swim underwater for the whole length of the pool and can hold his breath longer than me! I did get a little worried about him swallowing water and inhaling water, but it hasn't hurt him at all. The exercise definitly outweighs the risk, in his case. Ocean water is good because of the saltwater, but I don't know about lakes we have never taken him in one so I can't give a good answer.
 
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amber682

New member
I asked the cf nurse at the clinic about this today. Baby pools,
refill every day. Pools and salt water beaches are excellent. She
even said the alt was good for him? The lake is ok but salt
water is better. She said ponds can be stagnant. But the lake we go
to is spring- fed (very clear, very cold!) She did stress that his
immune system is just as good as anyone elses, so he's not more
likely to get sick. It does him a lot of good, so we'll keep
swimming!<br>
    And that couple of weeks of coughing and
wheezing cleared up on some meds, and the culture grew nothing. The
nurse said it probably had nothing to do with swimming in a lake. I
think I let my worries run away with me sometimes! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif" border="0"> 
 
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Scarlett81

New member
OK-this is obviously a topic that has a varying opinion. Mine is-let your kid be normal. Let your kid (within reason of course) do everything else that the other kids do. What's the point of it all if we can't just live?
My mom had her major flaws, but the one thing she did right was never limit me from doing all kid type activities. I played in the snow at 5 below till 10:00 pm-I made mud pies, went on long walks on my parents farm. There's another point. i grew up on a farm-with hay and animals and stagnant water....LOL.!!
Of course you should take precautions. You wouldn't want to jump into a scummy pond at the base of a land fill.
But kids with cf need to feel normal. And they also need lots of activity and exercise.

Whatever you do, you sound like a good parent who cares about their kid very much. I just wanted to give the perspective of someone who was a kid with cf.<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
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amber682

New member
I very much appreciate it. I really don't want to limit Vinny , but
if it was strongly advised that we avoid the lake, I guess i would
have to. But, thankfully, it seems to not be a prob
 
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Jane

Digital opinion leader
Here's my two cents:

My boys have played in every kind of water, ocean, inground pool, backyard inflatable, waterpark, big pond, little pond, rivers, puddles etc. and loved every minute of it.

But then, my boys also contracted that mystery mycobacteria.<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif" border="0">

So, should I have kept them away from water? NO!!!! Bacteria is everywhere! This bug could have come from our tap water or the tap water in the hospital, we don't know. Although we are currently doing environmental studies of our water and soil, it is unlikely we will be able to pinpoint the source.

So I say, let the little guy play!!
 
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Allie

New member
Hannah (Ry's mother, for those of you not keeping score) said something very wise to a mother once who was sheilding her CF child, and I think of it every time these discussions come up. "It is good that your child live, it is better that your child have a life."

Ry made mud pies, caught frogs, swam in lakes and rivers, ran around the block like any other kid. Even with CF, a cold is rarely a reason to call up the National Guard, as Ry reminded me many times. Yes, I'm guilty of the overprotective thing too.

I am pretty much always in the "let the kid go" camp.
 
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Momofsix

New member
ok after reading all the post I feel better. Brandon wants to swim
in our pool  we have had trouble keeping the chemicals
stabilized so he hasn't gotten in. he said his doctors said
chlorinated water only ....... then we have michael with special
needs pool pants  (gotta watch that).  Brandon plays with
frogs too and spiders and anything creepy crawly so i guess i am
babbling and being a bit overprotective myself  right?
  I want him to have LIFE.
 
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