Skin irritation and rashes

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jblizzle

jblizzle

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May 19, 2010
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Tucson, AZ
Not sure if this is the right forum, but here goes.

My wife took the 2 and 4 yo swimming last week and both kids broke out in a rash and cried when apply lotion after a bath (after some discussions, probably did not use the appropriate lotion that did not have alcohol in it). I took them swimming Sat and no one had a problem ... although water was cool and we were not in very long.

Yesterday morning in anticipation of people coming over for a BBQ I tested the water with the Taylor kit (currently have a pool company doing service until I get a salt water system installed). Everything seemed ok ... here is what I remember writing down (will confirm later):

FC/CC: 5.0 / 0.0
pH: 7.8
TA: 150
CYA 100

I happened to still have some acid, so added it and later test the Ph at 7.5 (better, not perfect).
Also, after a mishap about a month ago with pumping 80% of the water out of the pool, I decide to put some salt back in for better water feel (and thought maybe help with the drying of the skin?). Added 8 - 40 lb bags of the Morton Solar Salt.

Well, after swimming for awhile late afternoon. Both kids broke out again and complained about skin burning when applying lotion (again the wrong stuff). Oatmeal bath seemed to help. And as i was sitting on the couch, I noticed my forearms and thighs break out into a dotted rash as well. Thinking back ... none of us rinsed after we got out (although I am thinking that should become part of the routine).

The only thing I can think of that may be "off" with the pool is knowing that the DE filter is leaking back to the pool as I have not gotten replacement grids yet.

If there is DE in the pool, could that be causing this drying of the skin and rashes?
Any other ideas on a possible cause?
 
I see two problems, either or both of which might be contributing.

Your CYA reading is a problem. With CYA at 100, you should be keeping FC between 8 and 13. Worse, since most of the common CYA tests report CYA levels higher than 100 as 100, your actual level might be much higher. The net effect is that your effective FC level is too low and the pool is not being as effectively sanitized as it should be.

DE getting into the pool can cause some irritation. Usually it quickly settles to the bottom and you would only notice something on your feet. But if it is stirred up it can cause irritation elsewhere.
 
Thanks for the response. A little over a month ago, the pool had turned into almost a swamp ... partly from me not keeping up on removing leave etc and partly from the pool company not doing what they were supposed to. I cleaned out what I could and they came out and put a lot of Chlorine in ... turning everything white (dead). Then came the backwash debacle and my accidental draining of the pool ... so at least that cleared most everything out.

A day later the pool company supervisor showed up to check things out and I let them know about my little oops and he again straightened out the levels ... I have alway found that they seem to put in way too much CYA. They also only show up every 2 weeks, so at first the FC level is probably pretty high ... and then it drops for 2 weeks. They also want to leave a floater in the pool to slowly add chlorine, but I know this is not helping the stabilizer situation.

I agree that the FC level is probably too low and will only get worse before they show up on Friday. I also agree that I think the CYA is also well above 100 (that was almost optimistic on my reading being that it was the last number). I should try to meet with them and try to explain this issue. What I really need to do is make the commitment to get the SWG installed and fire the pool company and get back to the BBB method.

From my reading it did not seem like the DE typically caused irritation, but we were running the gas heater and sitting in front of the jets for a good bit of time ... so that may have been blowing the DE right onto us.
 
Oh, another question. Even though there was no reading of CC, could the fact that the FC is slightly low based on the CYA level mean that something is "living" in the pool and causing problems?

Although I thought I had also read that bacterial rashes take >24 hours to show up, while chemical rashes happen much quicker like in our case. But, nothing seemed horribly out of whack which makes me wonder what chemical could be the problem.

What else can be done regarding preventing our skin from drying out and hopfully reducing the likelihood of irritation?
 
Since you are using a pool service, it's possible they are adding something else to the pool that is irritating -- possibly some algaecide. It's really hard to know. You are right that bacterial reactions take longer to develop whereas the chemical ones are much faster. This link shows a chart that can be used as a guide (this was taken down from it's original location at APSP, possibly because it should say that this is not medical advice or possibly just because it is old).

An FC that is too low relative to the CYA level is most likely to allow algae to grow. Most bacteria are still likely to be killed since it takes a lot lower active chorine level to kill most bacteria (at least in planktonic free-floating form; biofilms require much higher chlorine levels but require living bacteria to start forming). Of course, this is all a statistical risk so it's more likely to have more pathogens in the water at lower active chlorine levels than at the higher levels needed to prevent algae growth.
 
Does this sound familiar?
Hot tub rash, or dermatitis, is an infection of the skin. Symptoms of hot tub rash include:

•Itchy spots on the skin that become a bumpy red rash.
•The rash is worse in areas that were previously covered by a swimsuit.
•Pus-filled blisters around hair follicles.
Click to expand...
http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/rwi/illnesses/hot-tub-rash.html

My prescription:
Get your own, good test kit if you haven't already.
Fire the pool service
Drain some water and refill to get CYA in range
Adjust pH
Shock the pool. And throw any pool toys in there while it's happening
Maintain pH and FC for the rest of the season
 
Those symptoms sound a bit more extreme that what we have seen ... no real bumps or pus ... just kind of red spots and seemingly very dry.

I have the test recommended test kit and was doing my own pool previously, but we just got tired of having to always remember to buy so much bleach and testing all the time ... I have never liked or really agreed with (based on my readings here) what the pool company seems to be doing.

If I had the money and time ... I would spend the weekend upgrading to a Pro Logic control with SWG and take over the maintenance myself. Just not sure I have either the time for that work or wanting to part with that much money.

What level should the CYA be at for using bleach? And what should it be for SWG?

I may have to have a serious talk with the wife about our plans and firing the pool company. Given the fact that she is now afraid to take the kids int he water ... I can probably justify buying just about anything I want to upgrade (assuming that these issues go away ... if not, then I will never hear the end of it.)
 
Here's what I would do.

1. Fix or replace the filter.
2. Get a list of everything the service has added to the pool (CYA, chlorine, algaecide, calrifier, etc) and post it here.
3. Fire the pool service and take over the maintenance of your pool.
4. Drain enough water to get to 60 ppm CYA. (It may take more than 1 drain/fill cycle)
5. Run a full set of tests with your K-2006 and post the results here.
6. Perform an OCLT (overnight chlorine loss test).
7. Decide if you want to go with a swcg or a chlorine injection system and go ahead and bite the bullet.
8. Start enjoying your pool!

If your pool service is only coming every two weeks then there could be a lot of stuff going on in there between visits.
 
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