Exercise is generally a good habit to practice, given how it keeps us in relatively good shape. Health is wealth, as they say. Which is why many parents decide to start their kids off young with exercise, such as taking them to public pools to learn how to swim.
But for a young five-year-old girl, going to the public swimming pool to learn how to swim may have left disastrous consequences to her skin, as this report from Sin Chew Daily goes to show.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
The incident, which happened in Singapore, befell the young child when her 31-year-old mother, who is self-employed, took her to a public swimming pool for a swim. Now, that doesn’t raise any eyebrows, as most parents would usually bring their children for outdoor activities to encourage a habit in sports.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
However, upon returning home, her young daughter started complaining that her skin felt itchy and began to show red patches all over. Any concerned parent would know that the moment that happens, it’s never a good sign. While initially, she had thought her daughter’s skin may have been too sensitive to dirty pool water or that she may have been bitten by an insect, the condition only worsened.
In fact, it worsened so much throughout the night, her poor daughter’s skin started swelling up, becoming warm to the touch. She started crying out from the sheer pain of it, saying it felt like she was ‘being burned’.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
Her mother said that while her daughter had come down with a case of hives previously and had generally itchy skin, there was no cause for her skin to start swelling up and becoming warm to the touch. What’s worse is that even after being admitted to a clinic for treatment and receiving medication, her daughter’s condition did not improve.
“Not only did she find it difficult to eat, but she also refused to speak. Her face became so swollen, she couldn’t even open her eyes.”
It took the advice of a neighbour whose grandson also exhibited similar symptoms before her daughter’s condition cleared up completely. So what was the cause behind it, you ask?
The five-year-old girl had apparently been suffering from chlorine burns.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
While normal skin like our own can tolerate chlorine in general, people with especially sensitive or dry skin are more likely to develop symptoms from chlorine in pools, especially if the pool has been recently cleaned, when the level of chlorine may be slightly higher than normal. As such, it is advisable for people to immediately shower after swimming to wash away the chlorine and prevent these burns from occurring.
Yikes! We hope that the girl manages to recover properly, and that none of her injuries left permanent scars!
Also read: Video: Little M’sian Boy Horrifically Hit By Car After Cycling Outside His House
