# Accidentally swallowed pool water?!



## PeopleAreStrange

I know this is kind of silly, but I went swimming on yesterday at this public pool and accidentally ingested some pool water!  The rest of the day I felt drowsy but trouble falling asleep, and had a headache, which is very rare for me. 
My torso and lungs ache and I felt very out of it today. I also have a very tight throat and it hurts to swallow, but its not red or anything. I don't have a fever, but I did have a slight cold before swimming.

I'm worried that the chlorine did some harm... do you know what this could possibly be?


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## Madison_Rose

Relax. I swim often, and usually swallow a bit of the water. That amount of chlorine can't hurt you. If it hurts to swallow, it's probably just your cold progressing.


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## Laith

Highly unlikely it is due to the Chlorine. Ive ingested about 10 gallons of it over my life so far, and Im still alive and kickin' lol. I dont think the concentration of Cl is high enough to cause harm if you get one or 2 mouthfulls. 

Theres even a small amount in our drinking water do help reduce pathogenic organisms, but its not concentrated enough for us to even notice.


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## nothing to fear

it's probably the cold you have that is causing those symptoms... or your worrying over the matter. it just makes me cough a whole lot and has given me a sore throat and a odd feeling in my chest when i've swallowed pool water.

at the most i can see it irritating your throat, and unless it turned out you were allergic and the reaction was life-threatening and affected your breathing, but you would have noticed right away, so i'm sure you're fine.  if swallowing pool water was extremely harmful then they wouldn't let little kids swim most likely and there would be a lot of warnings about not swallowing it.

i actually would rather swallow pool water than sea water. the saltiness of it makes me gag, i hate it!


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## quiet0lady

Yep, no need to worry! Chlorine in a pool is so diluted that it can't really do much damage unless you're drinking it like it's kool-aid.


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## millenniumman75

It's the cold, I am afraid. Take Zinc and Vitamin C to help boost the immune system .


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## CeilingStarer

They wouldn't allow people to swim in pools if it was a danger. I swallowed it nightly as a kid. It was horrible and would sometimes burn my throat a bit.


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## millenniumman75

You know what? I think she's be purified on the inside. It could kill a cold virus or two while it's there :lol.


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## Emptyheart

It's all good. No worries.


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## eagleheart

Yeah I think your cold might have gotten worse. I'm pretty sure I've accidentally swallowed that before when I was in a pool, it was okay. Probably everybody has accidentally swallowed some before. Of course i wouldn't guzzle it down, eww lol, but I don't think that amount would be serious. I'm pretty sure they put a little of chlorine in tap water too, some places, you can kinda smell it. When in doubt ask the doctor, but that sounds like it could be the cold to me.


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## Amelia

It could be the chlorine, or it could be the organic matter.  (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Hope you feel better soon.


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## Akane

If you have a really sensitive respiratory tract dumping something irritating like chlorine down your throat can cause some symptoms. It's not dangerous though. Usually the worst thing that happens when you swallow too much chlorinated water is you get a stomach ache and possibly throw up. If you are having symptoms more than 24hours later it's something else.


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## Some Russian Guy

i swallowed some too on sunday and nothing bad happend
i'm still alive and well


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## danneva

That's fine but if you swallow too much, maybe you will experience stomach aches because chlorine which reacts with water in and out of the body to from hydrochloric acid and hypochlorous acid and these two are both extremely poisonous. Chlorine is by far the most popular method to sanitize a pool but saltwater swimming pools are starting to gain popularity. Proponents of saltwater pools claim since there is no chlorine in the pool water, it feels smooth or silky, it will not irritate your eyes or skin, it is safe to swallow when swimming and will not fade bright colored swim wear. Salt water pools are environmentally friendly since they use a totally natural product - salt - rather than a manufactured chemical - chlorine.


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## jamaicabraden

don't worry. chlorine won't cause you any harm. it's just either you have colds before you swim or just because of worrying a lot about it. i do swim a lot every weekend and i'm still alive and healthy!

___________
inflatable pools


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## senrab

If it was seriously harmful, chlorine would be banned outright because I bet kids swallow gallons of pool water...you're fine


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## Sam1911

:teethpee water yay! you're probably just a little sore and your symptoms probably got worse and not because you swallowed pool water.


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## Marlon

If I swallowed water from a public pool, it would not be the chlorine I would be worried about. :haha

But seriously! You are fine - nothing to panic about


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## esboy

Swimming is my best sport and I like to swim in the pool and every time I swim I always swallow a bit of water but but I never been experience a sick I mean a headache....But if you have something that you feel uncomfortable you should consult to the doctor to have some check up....


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## DeeperUnderstanding

I've drank plenty of pool water before (accidentally), and I've been fine.

I think you're fine. Just don't make it a habit!


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## Dov

Yea I know someone who got a cold sore from the pool or so they claimed 

But when I swim I always drink loads of water nothing ever goes to bad from it...


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