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Medically Speaking
Safety Tips Before Swimming
from the physician members of the Delaware County Medical SocietyIt’s nearly swimming season, and you can almost smell the chlorine! This year is also the 50th anniversary of the polio vaccine. How are these two things connected?
Senior citizens remember that when polio was common in the United States, swimming pools often were closed during the late summer, as they were thought (correctly) to be a common source of the polio virus. Thanks to the vaccine, polio has disappeared from the US (and most of the rest of the world), but swimming pools remain a source of some infections.
In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have shown an increase in other pool-related infections over the last few years. Most of these infections are diarrheal illnesses, but skin, eye and ear infections also can occur. Those most likely to develop such infections include children and people with compromised immune systems (for example, in HIV/AIDS, cancer chemotherapy, organ transplants). A number of measures may help to reduce the chance of getting (or giving) an infection at the pool or hot-tub.
One of the most important safety measures is chlorination. Most organisms are killed fairly rapidly on exposure to chlorine, but some, like Cryptosporidia and Giardia, both parasites that can cause diarrhea, can survive for several hours in chlorine, and can be infectious during that period. Others, such as Shigella and E. coli, might be less hardy but are so contagious that even small numbers of organisms that survive in the pool water or the pool environment can cause disease. The CDC offers specific guidelines for pool owners at www.cdc.gov (link is “safe swimming”).
Most of these diseases are introduced into pool water by swimmers who inadvertently carry the organisms with them. As unsavory as it may be to discuss, invisible amounts of fecal residue remain around the rectal area, and wash off into the water when a swimmer enters the pool. These organisms can then enter the mouths of other swimmers and cause infection. We can all reduce the chances of spreading or acquiring infection by taking the following precautions:
1) Don’t swim if you have diarrhea or “pink eye.”
2) Shower before swimming, and wash hands after using the toilet or changing diapers. Be sure that children do the same.
3) Take children to the bathroom frequently, in the hope of preventing an “I have to go NOW!” situation that might result in an “accident.”
4) Check diapers frequently in order to catch a soiled diaper before the whole pool gets soiled!
5) Change diapers in the bathroom, not at the poolside, in order to avoid inadvertent contamination of the poolside.
6) Try to avoid swallowing pool water, and teach children the same.
Swimming is one of the great joys of summer, a pleasure that makes those “dog days” tolerable, and gives light at the end of the long tunnel of winter. It is a treat not to be denied, but to be undertaken safely and with courtesy for the health of others. Enjoy!
-end-Note: this article is presented through the efforts of the Delaware County Medical Society and is intended for informational purposes only, the contents should not be intended as medical advice. “You and Your Doctor – Preserve the Relationship”.
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