Suggestion of chlorine link to asthma
Chlorine in swimming pools could be a factor in levels of asthma in children, a new Belgian study suggests.
Researchers at the Catholic University of Louvain suggests that chlorine reacts with urine and sweat to create chemical fumes which damage lungs.
The researchers were keen to state that more work needs to be done before firm conclusions on the theory can be reached.
A spokesman for Imperial College today responded to the study with advice for parents whose children swim regularly.
Speaking on the ITV News, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen said: “When they go to a pool they should not smell the typical swimming pool smell, which probably contains lots of the by-products, and also [make sure] that children don’t urinate in the pool, and that they take showers before they go in the pool.”
The National Asthma Campaign has reacted to the study with ambivalence, saying that swimming itself should not necessarily be thought of as a cause of asthma attacks.
Health experts agree that a number of factors can predispose a child to developing asthma, including obesity, pollution and a low birth weight. Genetic factors are also thought by many researchers to play a part.
