With my fitness ramping up, I am now swimming three times a week. One issue in my routine, is that there are people that wear lashings of fragrance. There are different reasons for why this annoys me. It might not be an issue for you, but I can say that it is too all of our detriment. Main points, include:
- The obvious tasting of the water, is vile!
- The smell is not just overbearing for the average swimmer, but can ruin or even stop those that have respiratory illnesses.
- It damages the water balance.
The taste and general smell is harsh, but not threatening. Having experienced respiratory illness in a loved-one, I can say that this would have stopped her swimming and made trouble for her, for the rest of the day. Watching this is bad enough, but if I was responsible for it, I would be mortified of what I have done to this individual. But this is key to a minority. There is a more broader isssue.
We all rely on the chemicals in our pools to keep us safe. As a former pool-caretaker, I cannot stress enough how important the balance is, and how easy people can become sick. This is like poisoning the water and setting it up to weaken the protective layer.
I just want to say one key piece of advice, and frankly, somewhat of a request: If you are going swimming, save the hefty fragrance for after you’ve been in the water. It is so much of a poorer action that you might realise. How would you feel if you couldn’t breathe or you went down with a nasty throat infection due to the safety compromises caused by a selfish act by somebody else? It’s just a thought…
