Should A Child Go Swimming When He Has A Chest Cold?

Whether you've paid for swimming lessons, there's a birthday party or your child is simply dying to head to the pool, holding him back because of a chest cold sometimes feels cruel. Chest colds often have little outward symptoms, without the runny nose, fever or nausea that comes with the traditional cold or flu. If your child's chest cold symptoms, such as coughing or congestion, are mild, it's not always necessary to hold him back from swimming.

Symptoms

A child with a chest cold suffers from symptoms that mostly reside in the respiratory tract, chest congestion and a phlegmy cough being the two chief types of symptoms. A chest cold is typically mild in its symptoms unless it's identified as a respiratory tract infection, which often requires medical attention. Since your child likely feels fine with a chest cold, it's not always necessary to stop him from participating in various activities, swimming included.

Benefits

When your child feels well enough to go swimming, being in the warm, moist environment sometimes benefits stubborn congestion. Much like a humidifier or spending time in a steamy bathroom, the warmth moisture helps to loosen some of the congestion that plagues your child, allowing him to produce more effective coughs remove excessive phlegm. And since chest colds don't always alter your child's behavior, he doesn't have to miss out because of a typically mild cold.

Disadvantages

While the warm, moist air around a pool helps to loosen congested mucus in the chest, the chemicals in the pool might exacerbate symptoms, warns Mayo Clinic allergy and immunology specialist Matthew Rank. He points to rather inconclusive and fledgling studies that found the swimming could exacerbate asthma symptoms such as swelling in the respiratory tract. The effect is likely caused by the inhalation of pool chemicals. While a chest cold isn't exactly the same as asthma, some of the symptoms, such as restricted breathing and a swollen respiratory tract are similar. It stands to reason that if pool chemicals aggravate asthma symptoms, they cause a similar reaction with a chest cold.

Precautions

Don't allow your child to participate in swimming if he has a fever or feels under the weather. If he feels fine and his symptoms are mild, take certain precautions to ensure safe swimming. Avoid sharing towels, pool toys, goggles and snorkels between friends to avoid the spread of cold germs and choose a pool that is well ventilated with fans or outdoor to avoid the excessive inhalation of pool chemicals. Watch your child closely and leave the pool if he has trouble breathing or coughs uncontrollably without producing mucus.