My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swimming

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cheezedawg

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Bronze Supporter
May 12, 2012
71
Elk Grove, CA
I can't figure out why. Here are my numbers from today from my Taylor K-2006- I can't find anything wrong with them. This is an in-ground plaster pool with SWG:

PH: 7.4
FC: 9.8
CC: 0
TA: 70
CH: 425
CYA: somewhere around 40-50- like many others I struggle with this test :-D
Salt: ~3400

I guess the FC is a tad high. I have very rarely measured any CC in the pool- I add a non-chlorine shock occasionally (maybe every 2 months) just in case. Should I dial down the SWG to get the FC closer to 5? Would that cause her eyes to burn?
 
Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

BTW- I overheard this conversation in the pool store yesterday when I was picking up some more acid:

Pool store guy: "No, you don't want to mess with any drops or anything like that. The chemistry is really important with a vinyl pool so you need to stick with the test strips."
 
Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

When she says that her eyes hurt, what exactly is the complaint? Are her eyes red, itchy or burning? Is it pressure? How long does the irritation last?

Is the water crystal clear?

Also, is anyone else having similar complaints?
 
Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

cheezedawg said:
Pool store guy: "No, you don't want to mess with any drops or anything like that. The chemistry is really important with a vinyl pool so you need to stick with the test strips."
Click to expand...

:laughblue: :blah: :lol:

Ok...now that that's out of the way, back to the serious part of the issue. Is she opening her eyes while she's under the water? If so, even with a good pH, eye irritation can still be an issue for some. A pair of swim goggles might be all that's needed.
 
Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

How old is she? I ask because my 3.5 and 6.5 year olds love their swim goggles. The 3.5 year old has recently taken up to using my snorkel and mask, yes he has a big head, they just barley fit, i need to get him his own set. They like being able to see clearly underwater for playing games and such. I know this is kinda masking the problem, if it's a problem of pool water vs. individual eye sensitivity.

For me growing up as a kid, never using swim goggles, swimming in neighborhood pool, my eyes always burned after a long afternoon of sharks and minnows (requiring the underwater eye opening). It was one of those life lessons for me, if you keep your eyes open all the time they are gonna hurt later.
 
Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

cheezedawg said:
I add a non-chlorine shock occasionally (maybe every 2 months) just in case.
Click to expand...

I'm curious...what is the non-chlorine shock product you are using? In a properly maintained pool, any kind of "shock product" is unnecessary for the pool as well as your wallet.

I would try lowering the FC a bit. Given a CYA of 50, the recommended FC maintenance range for a SWG pool is between 2 and 7. I would aim for the midpoint and see if that makes a difference to your daughter's eyes. Her eyes may simply be more sensitive than other members of the family.

I recommend doing the CYA test in bright midday sunlight holding the CYA tube at waist level with your back to the sun. That is critical to getting a good reading.
 
Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

Goggles are a good suggestion, you could try a higher pH, around 7.6 everyone's eyes are slightly different, but for the most part are around 7.5 I think opticians/ophthalmic surgeons can check this with a litmus paper type test if you want to investigate further to to make your pool pH similar to your daughters eyes, I doubt the chlorine level is any issue, but you never know, some eyes are more sensitive than others.
 
Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

She is 5. She does open her eyes a lot, but she did last year too and never complained. Not sure what is different. I can let the PH float up a little higher- can't let it get too high though with my CH levels.

BTW, the non-chlorine shock that I put in a couple times a year is potassium peroxymonosulfate based. Just an oxidizing powder that I bought at the pool store to have in case I measure any CC. I put it in this year when I "opened" the pool because I thought I might have seen a slight color change when I added a drop of the R-0871 on the CC test, although I didn't really notice any pink or red when I added the R-0003. Like I said, it was just to make sure.
 

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Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

cheezedawg:

Potassium Monopersulfate (MPS)-based oxidizers can cause false positive CC readings, especially on DPD tests (which is different than the FAS-DPD test). It can also be an irritant, especially at high levels. I used to use this (and many other) chemicals before I switched to BBB. Now, no chemical go into the pool unless there is a specific need for it.

Chem Geek provides a great explanation on MPS in this post:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/dupo...ek-t36583.html?hilit=potassium monopersulfate
 
Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

Try raising the PH a bit, towards 7.7. Most people don't have issues until the PH is below 7.2, but that varies from person to person. She might be more sensitive to low PH than most.
 
Re: My daughter is complaining that her eyes hurt after swim

Not yet- between some colder weather and a stomach flu going through the house, there hasn't been much swimming. I am targeting a slightly higher PH (7.6-7.7) and I dialed back my SWG a tad, so we will see if that helps. We also got her a snorkel mask. I'll update once the kids get back out there.

BTW- I remeasured my CYA yesterday in full sunlight waist high with my back to the sun (based on the recommendations here) and I got 60, so my FC wasn't as high as I thought.
 
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