Alright, let’s talk about this. I remember a while back, I had this annoying patch of something on my skin, looked kinda like a fungus, maybe on my foot or ankle, you know? It was itchy and just wouldn’t go away with the usual stuff you get over the counter. Super frustrating, honestly. I tried a cream or two, and it felt like a temporary fix, then bam, it was back.
My Little “Experiment”
So, I got to thinking. I used to swim a fair bit, and I couldn’t recall having these sorts of skin troubles back then. And pools, well, they’re loaded with chlorine, right? Chlorine’s supposed to kill all sorts of nasty stuff. A bit of a lightbulb moment, or maybe just a desperate thought, but I figured, why not see if regular swimming could help? It wasn’t like I was going to dab pure chlorine on myself, that’s just crazy. Nah, just good old-fashioned swimming.
So, here’s what I did:
- I started going to the local public pool. Made it a point to go about three, maybe four times a week.
- I didn’t do anything special, just swam my usual laps for about 45 minutes to an hour. Just normal exposure to the pool water.
- I always showered thoroughly afterwards, soap and all, ’cause leaving pool water on your skin all day can’t be good.
What I Noticed Over Time
For the first week or so, honestly, I didn’t see much change with the fungus patch. My skin, in general, felt a bit drier, which, yeah, chlorine will do that to you. But I decided to stick with it. I told myself I’d give it a solid month of this routine.
Around the two-week mark, I think, I started to notice the itchy feeling wasn’t as bad. The spot itself seemed a little less red, less angry. It wasn’t a miracle cure overnight, nothing like that. It was slow. Very slow. I kept up the swimming, making sure to rinse off well every single time. That felt important.
By the end of the month, maybe creeping into the fifth week, the patch was significantly better. It had faded a lot. And after a bit longer, it was pretty much gone. Like, completely. And the best part? It didn’t come back, at least not in that spot or for a long while after.
My Thoughts On It Now
So, did the pool chlorine kill the fungus? Look, I’m just one guy sharing what happened to me. I can’t say for sure it was the chlorine alone. Maybe the increased exercise helped my immune system. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Public pools aren’t exactly sterile labs, you know? Lots of people, lots of… well, everything. So you’re exposing yourself to other things too.
What I do know is that my skin definitely felt the effects of the chlorine. It got drier, my hair felt a bit like straw if I wasn’t careful. So, it’s not like it’s a gentle skin treatment. If I had a really bad or widespread skin infection, I wouldn’t rely on just jumping in a pool. I’d be off to see a doctor, no question. This was just something I tried for a minor, stubborn spot when other simple things hadn’t worked for me at that time.
It’s just my personal record of what I tried and what I observed. It seemed to work out for me that one time, for that specific issue. But yeah, always gotta be sensible about these things. Your skin’s important, after all.
