Swimming solutions

[Mozza]

Hi all,

OK so I'm looking to see what others have found useful to reduce simple partials while swimming.

My wife (Moo) has lead an extremely active life, including tons of competitive sport before her E. Since then we have tried several forms of sport and excercise with mixed results. She still finds swimming rewarding but there seem to be a couple of strong, water-related triggers. Here they are and here are some things we have found useful:

1. Visual effects - the 'dappling' of the the surface and reflections from the bottom.

Fixes: Swim at night, and in a pool with non-reflective bottom (ie not WHITE).

I wonder what the darkest tint you can get is for swimming goggles and whether it's possible to get polarised lenses as I think it would help.

2. Temperature - to say Moo is temperature-hypersensitive is putting it mildly and herein lies our biggest challenge.

Fixes: The nearest pool maintains a warm 30deg that does the trick, but even then she'll get probably 1 sz.

Wetsuits - we live in the tropics in Australia and even 1/4" wetsuit does not stop the sz. I'm keen on trying a full length 'steamer' in the hope that that will work because we would love to go snorkeling together again.

I'd be interested to hear other peoples experiences and what solutions others have come up with.

Tx
Moz

 

[Ann T.]

Greetings, Mozza: Wow, I just read your post about your wife! She is to be admired! I just hope her simple partials don't interfere too much with the freedom she's used to having with regard to an active lifestyle. I absolutely love swimming, but can no longer participate due to drowning risk. So, please ALWAYS stay by your wife's side while she's in water. Also, yes, the polarised/polarized lenses on swimming goggles should definitely help & they should be available online. The darkest tinted goggles I've seen are smokey brown-grey, but check online for those, too.

I've got a question: in the U.S., there's a product called UnderArmour, which is a type of high tech long underwear that outdoor enthusiasts wear in cold weather, as do professional football and baseball players wear under their uniforms to stay warm. I wonder if they make a product like UnderArmour for scuba & swimming enthusiasts? You may want to check into this. If you can find it, then this is something she could wear underneath the 1/4" wetsuit. These are my suggestions. Finally, I do hope you & your wife get a chance to snorkel again soon. Take care, Mozza.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Mozza --

Is it the cold temperature, or is it the change in temperature that triggers your wife's seizures?

Here are some things that can help her adjust to cold water better:
1. Breathing exercises -- long slow exhales help the body adjust to cold -- they also help some folks prevent seizures, so maybe they;ll do the trick for your wife. It's like the opposite of hyperventilating. Blowing bubbles is a good way to practice this.
2. Caps, booties, gloves, earplugs, and vaseline. They can all make a HUGE difference in keeping a body warm in the water.
3. Swim on your back -- the face is more sensitive to cold than the back of the head, so it can help ease the adjustment by starting out with the backstroke.

 

[Mozza]

Tx, yes I think it is the abrupt change so a gradual introduction might help and yep will check out underarmour. My wife is always accompanied when she swims.

 

[mel239]

We have an inground 9 ft pool inside our home.It is off the kitchen and the sunlight coming in that room created such a dappling effect that reflected right into the kitchen so badly I couldnt even go in there even with a curtain up cos the kids were always opening the slider.I had used your same suggestions,I got a liner with a grey bottom and covered the windows in there with pretty blankets so it is always dim and its always 87 degrees.We dont even go into that room unless we have flotation stuff on if we are alone.I personally have a problem with shadows under the pool so Im careful which lights are on.

 

[Endless]

Hi, Moz.

I admire your wife for her determination and swimming.

Me, no bravery. Stupidity. I finally got a "what the h*%%" attitude and swim anyway, even though my doc says no because of seizures. I still don't swim very often because exercise gives me headaches. Now I just need to get a "what the h*%%" attitude toward pain and swim anyway.

Back to the topic.

I have dark goggles, but they aren't polarized. It's to help me avoid the headaches I get from light. I got mine at a sports store. A dive shop may have something that's more specific, like polarized. If she wore a snorkling mask, I know those can be made with custom lenses. Your opthamologist can help you out with the custom lenses.

Regular wet suits work by trapping cold water next to the body and the body warms it up, and the water plus the rubber acts as insulation. The cold shock of first getting into the water is practically the same as wearing nothing. The only thing I know of that protects better is a dry suit with a warm and fuzzy bodysuit underneath. In Australia I'd think she'd roast if she was that wrapped up. Also have you tried to swim in those things? Pretty hard. Scuba is fine in them. Snorkeling not as much fun in one but is still okay.

A dry suit is so bulky I'd definitely try that full body wetsuit first. That's what you mean when you are talking about a steamer, right? Here in the US we just call them wetsuits, so I'm taking a guess.

 

[mel239]

another big nono for me is that underwater light-the slight movement of the water and that light reflection freaks me out