Alright, let me walk you through what happened the other day after my swim.
So, I decided to hit the local pool. Been meaning to go for ages, finally dragged myself there. It felt pretty good actually, doing some laps, just floating around a bit. Wasn’t trying to break any records, just wanted some exercise and to cool off. The water felt nice, maybe a bit heavy on the chlorine smell today, but nothing too crazy I thought at the time.
I probably spent a good hour in there, maybe a bit more. Got out, showered, felt pretty refreshed you know? Headed home, feeling okay. Then, maybe about an hour or so after I got back and settled down, this headache started creeping in. It wasn’t like a sudden bang, more like a slow, dull ache building up, mostly felt it kind of behind my eyes and across my forehead.
Trying to figure it out
First thing that popped into my head was dehydration. I realized I didn’t drink much water before I went, and definitely didn’t sip anything while I was there or immediately after. Just didn’t think about it. So, that was suspect number one.
Then I thought about the chlorine. Like I said, the smell was quite strong. Maybe I inhaled too much of that? Or maybe getting pool water in my sinuses? I definitely remember snorting some water up my nose accidentally a couple of times when I was doing backstroke, not pleasant. That could definitely irritate things up there and trigger a headache, I reckon.
I also considered maybe I just pushed myself a bit too hard with the swimming, even though I didn’t feel exhausted at the time. Or maybe it was the pressure changes, getting water in my ears, though my ears felt fine.
What I ended up doing
It wasn’t unbearable, but it was annoying enough that I needed to do something. So, here’s what I did:
- Grabbed my biggest water bottle and just started chugging water. Forced myself to drink quite a bit over the next hour.
- Took some basic pain reliever I had in the cabinet. Nothing fancy, just the usual stuff.
- Went into my bedroom, drew the curtains to make it dark, and just laid down for a bit. No screens, no noise, just quiet rest.
After maybe 45 minutes of resting and lots of water, it started to ease off. Thank goodness. It wasn’t completely gone straight away, but it was much, much better. By the evening, it was basically gone.
So, what’s the takeaway? For me, I’m pretty sure it was a combo of not drinking enough water and maybe that sinus irritation from the pool water/chlorine. Next time I go swimming, I’m definitely making sure I hydrate properly before, during, and after. Maybe I’ll even try one of those nose clip things, looks silly but might be worth it if it stops the headache. It’s a learning process, right? Just wanted to share my little experience in case anyone else runs into the same thing.
