"I am not going to allow myself not to perform well just because I don’t feel well. I am bullet proof to the extent that a lot of things can be thrown at me, but it’s about how much I am prepared to let them affect me." (Ian Thorpe)

Illness Prevention Strategy

Illness can be a significant factor in compromising the effectiveness of training, and consequently competitive performance, particularly during the winter months. Swimmers and their parents should do everything possible to stay healthy, especially during periods of hard training, and there are useful strategies that can be deployed to keep illness and infection to a minimum.

• Wash hands regularly, particularly after touching door handles in public places, and maintain good personal hygiene.
• Avoid contact with people who have symptoms of infection.
• Wrap up warm after training, especially in the winter. Wear a warm coat and a beanie hat. Moving from a hot pool environment to a cold one weakens your immune system.
• Never share drinks bottles or cutlery.
• Avoid getting a dry mouth – drink little and often to maintain hydration.
• Avoid hand to eye and hand to mouth contact to prevent transferring germs to sensitive mucosal tissues.
• Be aware of vulnerability to infection after training and competition when the immune system is suppressed.
• Maintain a healthy, nutritious diet, including plenty of antioxidant rich foods (so called superfoods like broccoli, tomatoes, blueberries, acai berries, pomegranate juice etc), and the recommended levels of carbohydrates, protein, fat and vitamins/minerals to maintain the body in peak condition.
• Get plenty of sleep (8-10 hours) every night, and additional recovery sleep at weekends.
• Reduce stress by developing good time management skills so that you can keep on top of academic work whilst training regularly.

If a swimmer does become ill it is important to inform the coach. Symptoms localised to the area above the neck such as a dry sore throat, a runny nose, sneezing and slightly swollen neck glands, usually only necessitate lighter swimming while maintaining the same volume.

Swimmers should not train if their symptoms are more widespread and include a fever, a significant (>20%) increase in resting heart rate, aching muscles and joints or coughing with phlegm. Exercising with this sort of infection may increase the severity and duration of the illness, and there is a risk that other swimmers may become infected. You should consult your GP and discuss the diagnosis with the coach.

Coping with Swimmer's Ear

Swimmer's ear (called otitis externa) is an infection of the outer ear canal, usually caused by common bacteria, sometimes by a fungus. The condition can crop up when bacteria nestle into an outer ear canal that is warm and moist, conditions bacteria love. Being in the water a lot not only creates those conditions, but it tends to wash away the natural oily, waxy substance that normally lines and protects the ear canal. Bacteria can then get the upper hand, and you get an infection.

The infection usually starts with an itching or tingling in the ear. Resist the urge to scratch; that will make the problem worse. In more severe cases, you may experience pain and discharge, or even have some hearing loss due to swelling of the ear canal. One way to tell if the infection is in the outer ear - and not deeper inside - is if your ear hurts when you gently pull on it and wiggle it.

Here are a few simple preventive measures:

• Don't let the water sit in your ear. Usually you can feel it swishing around in there. Shake the water out after a swim and dry your ears.
• Use over-the-counter antiseptic ear drops if you're a frequent swimmer to prevent infections from occurring.
• Use a swimming cap to keep the water out.
• Don't poke around in your ears with anything smaller than your elbow! Doing so will remove nature's protection against bacteria. Contrary to what many people think, most of the time it's best to just leave earwax alone. It's in your ear for a good reason: to trap dust, bacteria, and other particles that might cause injury, irritation, or infection. Jaw movements when you eat or talk will eventually push wax to the outer ear where it can be easily removed.