I have no idea where to post this, but... boy parts

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M

my2kidsmom

0
Aug 30, 2008
116
Las Vegas, NV
We went swimming this past Wed, Fri, Sat, and Sun. Today, we only had about an hour in the pool. When my son got out and went to the bathroom and he said his "boy part" hurts when he peed. Last year, in someone else's pool, he would always have this problem and I thought is was the mesh on his swim suit rubbing. (Last year, he also had sore spots in the creases of his legs, etc...) When we got this house with a pool, I talked to the pool guy about that and he said it was the pH being off balance. Well, I think my chemicals are in line:
FC 10 (checked today and yesterday)
pH 7.6 (checked yesterday)
TA 90 (checked yesterday)
CYA 100 ish (checked last week)

The first few days of swimming we actually stayed in the pool longer than today and he hasn't had the problem with his boy parts until today.

Any idea on what the problem may be?
 
I'l looking for the medical advice topic, too! :mrgreen: Generally, when there is stinging on urination, I'd be looking at an infection in the urinary tract. On the other hand, a FC of 10ppm is "shock level", and while that is not an uncommon European level, it is quite high for USA residential pools, which should be 1.5-2.5 (IMHO).

High chlorine might be irritating his urethra. :?:
 
my2kidsmom said:
according to the pool calculator, with a CYA reading of 100, a FC of 10 is fine. (right?) It would not be a cause of irritation would it?
Click to expand...

Right. I ran with a high CYA and appropriate FC levels and there were no complaints like this.

Ten is shock level if there is no CYA. With your CYA that high that level of FC is not only normal it's recommended.

No CC reading? I would think there would be another cause, not the FC/CYA levels.
 
CYA is 100+, so the FC level is very reasonable. The recommended FC level for a CYA of 100 is 8 to 13, so that is right in the middle of the range. FC at that level will not cause any problems/irritations.

I am worried that the CYA level might actually be much higher. The standard CYA test shows levels higher than 100 as 100. If the CYA level is actually 200, then the FC level is significantly too low and there is some risk of transferring infections from one person to another.

I would do the CYA test again, but this time mix one part of pool water with an equal amount of tap water, do the test with that and then multiply the result by two. You lose a lot of precision doing the test that way, but it will tell us if the CYA level is indeed around 100 or if it is actually much higher.
 
I am pretty certain that I've got a good reading on the CYA level. I was a lot higher, but over the winter, we had some real good rain and drains and topping off (several) and this brought my CYA level down a good bit. I know I need to get it lower, but I'm going to run it where it is for now because I will be moving in a couple of months (or sooner).

For the problem with my son's "area" do you think I may want to lower the pH from 7.6 to 7.5 or 7.4? It was a scary google search, but I did find information about the connection between acidity and irritation.
 
No, a PH of 7.6 is just about perfect. I would not expect any irritation from low PH unless the PH was below 7.2.

If your CYA level of 100 is correct, the only explanation that makes sense is abrasion from the swim suit. Your levels are just about ideal for a CYA level of 100.

But if your CYA level is actually 200+, then your FC level is way to low, and there is a remote chance that the irritation is from an infection.
 
You could test if the abrasion is from his swim suit by having him wear underwear under his suit. Was he "riding" any pool toys (noodles, inflatables, etc)? That could be providing some irritation. I would explore the infection thought too.

I know it is rare, but some people are allergic to chlorine. If this is the case, then he will continue to have issues.
 
Maybe, maybe not. She said last year when he had this issue he also had sore spots in the creases of his legs. The odd thing about allergies is that they manifest themselves in many different ways on different people and even different ways on the same person.

How old is the boy? Will he let you look for any redness or irritation?
 

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He is 6 and yes, I have looked. It is fine today with no signs of irritation. Last year, this happened every time we went to one friend's pool , but never happened in another friend's pool. That's why I thought it was related to the It also happened at the water park. (I do think the water park was from walking around in a wet swim suit).

We are swimming this afternoon :mrgreen: so I'll report if there is another problem.
 
My step son had the same problem. Exactly like you describe. It was simply a chlorine irritation, We limited his swimming in the pools that bothered him. He did finally grow out of it. He swims every summer all summer now with no complaints. He was about 9 when he had the problem.

I would say to limit swimming and if it gets to bad take him to doc. We did that when he actually had a blister appear.

Steph
 
after swimming, does he stay in a wet swim suit for awhile?? I know both my kids have sensitive skin and daughter (6yrs) is also pretty sensitive in that area....I always make sure she gets rinsed off in the bathtub before putting back on play clothes.


chris
 
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