What a cesspool this is.
As temperatures rise, the siren sound of the pool gets louder. While chemicals like chlorine and bromine do their best to kill bacteria and viruses, some germs remain afloat.
Enjoy the 4th of July festivities, but beware of illnesses you could contract from contaminated pool water or from inhaling chemicals that have evaporated and turned into gas.
Fecal-related swimming pool pathogens
According to HuffPost, diarrhea is the most common cause of swimming-related illness.
If there is poop in the pool, millions of bacteria will be released into the water. People can get sick if they ingest even a small amount.
Worse yet, and more common, a full-blown fecal incident isn’t the only way people get sick. Small particles of feces can easily come off people’s bodies when they swim, meaning you can’t see the danger.
Cryptosporidium, norovirus, giardia, shigella, and E. coli are common fecal-related bacteria. Depending on the offending pathogen, symptoms can include fever, cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
If you are swimming with children or babies, make sure that diapers are changed far away from the pool to avoid contamination. You should also go to the toilet regularly.
Why doesn’t chlorine kill these bacteria?
Sometimes the chlorine, bromine, and pH ratios are not quite right, allowing bacteria to spread. Other times, people are exposed to bacteria in the time it takes for the chlorine to eliminate them.
Dr. Clare Rock, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, explained to HuffPost: “This is one of the reasons why, if there is a fecal accident in a pool, there is a protocol that the lifeguards and pool operators follow before people are allowed back in the water.”
Cryptosporidium, also known as crypto, has proven particularly resistant to chlorine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, crypto was the cause of 49% of infectious outbreaks in water-based environments such as pools, hot tubs and water parks between 2015 and 2019.
Chlorine or bromine can kill most bacteria within minutes, but crypto can survive in a water source for a week or more.
People with weakened immune systems are more vulnerable to serious crypto infections. If you have been sick with diarrhea or have been diagnosed with crypto, the CDC recommends waiting at least two weeks after symptoms have resolved before swimming.
Swimmer’s ear
Swimmer’s ear is a bacterial infection caused by pool water in the outer ear canal. When water remains in the ear, it breaks down the protective wax, allowing bacteria to multiply optimally.
Symptoms of swimmer’s ear include pain, redness, swelling, itching, and ear mucus. It is most common in children and is not contagious.
Rock explained that to prevent and treat swimmer’s ear, “you can use a towel, but also pull on the earlobe in different directions to allow water to drain out…consider using earplugs or a swim cap to prevent pool water from getting into the ear.”
Irritants
Skin, eye or throat irritation is a common consequence of diving into a pool.
Rock explained, “Chlorine in the pool turns into chemical irritants when it combines with sweat, urine, and dirt. When you smell ‘chlorine’ in the pool, you are likely smelling these chemical irritants because they are turning into gas in the surrounding air.”
These irritants, called chloramines, cause skin rashes, itching, red eyes, coughing, wheezing and nasal irritation. An incorrect pH level in a pool can lead to skin and eye irritation.
Why You Should Never Pee in the Pool
It is necessary to shower before swimming. A minute of rinsing before swimming is enough to remove most of the dirt or other substances that consume the chlorine or bromine needed to kill bacteria.
Experts agree that everyone should refrain from peeing in the pool, not only because it’s rude, but also because chloramines are created when urine, sweat and/or makeup mix with chlorine. These chemicals also reduce the amount of chlorine that can kill other bacteria.
Safety first
To assess the safety of a pool or water park, you can consult the site’s health department inspection reports.
HuffPost also advises making sure you can see the drain at the deep end of the pool, that there are lifeguards supervising swimmers, and, if there is no lifeguard, that there is a lifeguard present.
The most important precaution swimmers can take is not to swallow pool water and to stay on dry land while healing an open wound or cut. If you must swim, use a waterproof dressing and cover the wound completely.
Illnesses aside, New Yorkers will likely have a hard time finding a safe place to swim this summer.
A persistent shortage of lifeguards is threatening access to public pools and beaches in New York.
For those with a garden and a small disposable income, The Post recommends a number of inflatable pools, including the granddaddy of them all: the inflatable water park.