Swimming with Menieres Disease

You may have noticed in my latest blogs that I have a pink earband around my head. That's because I have developed Menieres Disease, which without getting too boring about it, is a condition of the inner ear affecting balance and causing vertigo and all sorts of horrid stuff. One treatment which seems to be successful is the insertion of an ear grommet (just like the little kids have when they suffer 'glue ear' etc).

The upshot is that I can't risk getting water in my grommet-ear. So, to help keep an ear plug in place, I use the neoprene headband.

It's not perfect though, and so, reluctantly, I have had to adapt my swimming to head-out-of-water style. I really really miss gliding along doing freestyle, water slipping over my body, caressing it.  But, needs must!

I also found I was getting an ear infection most times I swam at the public pool .

This year I used part of my retirement savings to install an 'Endless Pool' - one with a swim jet. It works really well, and is a decent substitute for lap swimming. Keeping up exercise is also really important with Menieres, and for general health. As anyone reading my blog knows, swimming is just something I have to do!

So, I have devised a routine involving a retro 'ladylike' head out breaststroke (while trying not to strain my neck!), side-stroke, which I've always loved, and an on-the-back kicking and 'scooping' motion, or beating with my arms like a Pilates "Hundreds" move.

Fortunately I can also still enjoy trips to calm conditions beaches, and have even risked snorkelling in Fiji, with all the headgear in place. And some antibiotic drops in case of infection!

So far, it's all going well!

The getting in end. The water is pushed through the grille at the end and returned via the channels located under the side benches.

The swim jet and filter at the one end. The jet can be adjusted to your swimming pace. 

I do a bit of step pool-robics too. I put music on and go for it! 

Still love a bit of sea baths (or beach as long as it's gentle - no diving through waves!) swimming. Here at Newcastle baths.

And a dip this summer in the Tuross River.

Mahon Pool with Darelle and Sally

Today we returned to one of our favourite pools, Mahon at Maroubra.

What's good about it:

• there is a change area (though it desperately needs updating), so you don't have to travel home with that clammy "swamp-butt" feeling
• the water is lovely, and because the seas get high at Maroubra, it does get regularly flushed
• there is a great cafe just across the road. Plus they were able to serve me a delicious salad without any salt! RARE!
• there is soap available in the toilets
• it isn't too much of a "scene". No yummy mummies with oversized "look-at-me" strollers, just a great mix of people of all ages and ethnicities
• parking is relatively easy to find, even on a Saturday of a long weekend, in the school hols

The downsides:

• not much shade
• the steps are getting a bit slimy with algae and are a bit precarious for those of us with some balance issues

Sally and Darelle's Swimming Adventures - Guerilla Bay

An overcast and humid day for a final swimming adventure. The northern end of Guerilla Bay where there is a shallow cove.

Darelle and Sally's Wild Swimming Adventure. 7 Jan 2018, Part 2. Happiness restored!

Between fish and chips at Bermagui, and scone and coffee at Bodalla, we had a refreshing "wild swim" immersion in the Tuross River at Eurobodalla. The river passes under the bridge at the turn off to Nerrigundah.

The older wooden bridge is still in operation while the new, higher concrete model is being constructed.

 Trolls under the bridge waiting for billy-goats wanting to cross

We reckon under the new concrete bridge are the remains of a first, lower wooden bridge. Possibly swept away in a long ago flood?

Planking in the river!

Sandy bank

Sally and Darelle's (non) Swimming Adventure - Blue Pool, Bermagui. 7 Jan 2018 Part One

We set off with such high hopes, fuelled by fond memories Sally had of the two previous times she had swum at Bermagui's Blue Pool. Its setting down the clifftop, with a backdrop of the sapphire-blue sea is quite stunning.

The first view from the clifftop was non-too promising. For a start it wasn't looking blue, and second, noone was in it. Also, though the car park was busy, people seemed to be coming and going in quick succession.

Disappointment was our name:

The reason had been posted: CAUTION Algae Bloom. Due to insufficient swell the Blue Pool hasn't been able to flush itself out which has allowed Algae to grow. 

After admiring the view, and spotting some seals in the ocean, we retreated into town for fish and chips for lunch.

Sally & Darelle's Swimming Adventures: Rosedale (Boatshed Beach) and Tomakin Cove

We started off with a walk to Rosedale Beach - north end (Boatshed Beach) for a gentle (if brisk!) dip. Then off to Mossy Point for a cafe, and a dip at the even cooler and brisker Tomakin Cove. 

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Dolphins, ahoy!

Three young men were having a great time jumping and back-flipping off this rock.

The water in Tomakin Cove is shallow (good for swimming laps)

Tomakin (Tomaga) Cove

Rosedale "pool"

23 Feb 2015

On the southeast facing point of the small, rocky and pebbly beach, at the tip of the South Rosedale headland, is one of my favourite spots. It's a natural tiny "plunge pool", which under the right conditions, when the tide is "just right" also offers a natural spa experience, as the incoming tide ripples and fizzes.

Here are some pics of the pool as I have captured it over the years. At the moment it is very pebbly, not sandy.

11 Jan 2015

11 Jan 2015

11 Jan 2015 

23 Feb 2015

13 July 2016

11 Feb 2017

11 Feb 2017

1 Jan 2018 - low tide

1 Jan 2018 - low tide

4 Jan 2018 - high tide

4 Jan 2018 - high tide

The "spa" at the edge of the pool. 11 Feb 2017