Pre-swim shower plea after pool health issues

A leisure centre in Worthing is urging the public to shower before entering its swimming pool

A leisure centre in West Sussex is urging the public to shower before entering its swimming pool after parents complained their children suffered health issues.

Some parents reported their children had itchy eyes, blurred vision and developed hives and headaches after using Splashpoint Leisure Centre's pool in Worthing.

One mother said her family was travelling miles to use other facilities as a result.

South Downs Leisure, which runs the centre, said the pool needed particular chlorine levels to fight off bacteria that people bring into the pool.

Chief executive Duncan Anderson said: “I don’t want to discourage anybody from coming to Splashpoint but what would help is if every single user showered before they went in."

'Sweat contains chemical'

Tash, a mother from Worthing, said her family had suffered loss of breath due to what she believed was high levels of chlorine.

She told BBC Radio Sussex: “It all started last year. We noticed after going to Splashpoint that we had really thick heavy coughs, finding it hard to draw breath and feeling nausea and dizziness.

“My daughter was so traumatised by the experience, she refuses to go back.”

Other parents on social media have complained about their children suffering from runny noses, stinging eyes and headaches.

Mr Anderson said the water was tested regularly and urged everyone to shower before entering the water.

“You would bring far less contaminants into the pool, the chlorine wouldn’t have to work as hard and therefore we wouldn’t have to put as much chlorine into the pool,” he said.

“You can wash off bugs and send them straight down the drain."

Dr Jim Reynolds, a reader in analytical chemistry at Loughborough University, reiterated the importance of showering before you swim.

“If you’re sweating and you go in, your sweat contains chemicals,” he said.

“That is something that will interact with the chlorine in the pool and form these other species, like chloramines and other disinfection byproducts, which can be quite unpleasant if they are present in high levels.”