Respiratory, ocular and skin health in recreational and competitive swimmers: Beneficial effect of a new method to reduce chlorine oxidant derivatives.

Background: Chlorine by-products may irritate the eyes, nose, skin and airways of swimmers and may cause chronic airway inflammation.

Objective: To assess the salutary effects on swimmers health of a new method of water disinfection.

Methods: Recreational (n=320) and competitive swimmers (n=53) participated in the study.

Benefits of carbon dioxide as pH reducer in chlorinated indoor swimming pools.

Carbon dioxide is seldom used as pH reducer in swimming pools. Nevertheless it offers two interesting advantages. First, its use instead of the usual hydrochloric acid avoids the characteristic and serious accident of mixing the disinfectant with that strong acid, which forms a dangerous chlorine gas cloud and, second, it allows the facility to become slightly a depository of that greenhouse gas.

Macrocephaly-cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita: report of six new patients and a review.

We report on six additional patients with macrocephaly-cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita (M-CMTC; MIM 602501) and review the literature. This syndrome is a multiple congenital anomalies/mental retardation and overgrowth disorder comprising macrocephaly, cutis marmorata, vascular marks of lip and/or philtrum, syndactyly, hemihypertrophy, CNS anomalies, and developmental delay. Based on the findings in our 6 patients and on 69 patients previously reported we listed the very frequent (observed in >75%), frequent (25-75%), and less frequent (>25%) components of the syndrome.