null

Chlorinated Pools May Raise Allergy Risk for Kids

Posted by editor on Sep 14th 2009

A study published this week by Alfred Bernard, PhD, of Catholic University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium, examined 847 students aged 13 to 18 who went swimming in outdoor and indoor chlorinated pools. He found Chlorine may contribute to risk for asthma and nasal allergies to children. His report was published in the Sept. 14 issue of Pediatrics.

The researchers note that chlorine and its by-products can irritate the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract. “The chlorine-based oxidants in water or air floating at the pool surface cause some airway changes and promote the development of allergic diseases,” they write in the study.