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Public swimming pool risks you need to consider

pool water

 

It doesn’t matter whether you’re searching for a place to have a little pool-time with your family, or, you’re a dedicated swimmer. You have the right to know if public pools are clean or not.  Despite how beneficial can swimming be, is important to know the risks posed by these public areas.

 

While swimming is among the healthiest physical activity choices, people do often neglect the other components this type of activity has when performed in a public pool. You should not assume that pool operators keep the cleaning standards high in their pool, because, the truth is, they usually don’t! Let’s have a look at the risks that the pool water contains beneath the crystal clear surface….

 

 

Dirty water

 

Even though swimming pools are treated with chlorine, the chances of contaminations are always present. According to a study made by the Center of Disease Control, almost 60% percent of tested public pools contained E. coli. It contributes in causing stomach flus and urinary tract infections. Also, according to CDC, the average swimmer, when staying for about 15 minutes into the pool, contributes at least 0.14 grams of fecal matter to the water. The number of Reactional Water Illnesses (RWIs) has drastically increased these last couple of decades. This illness is caused by different germs that we take by swallowing contaminated water present in swimming pools, water parks, oceans etc.  RWI includes many different infections. Most common are diarrhea, gastrointestinal, skin, ear and other neurologic infections.

 

According to a survey from Water Quality and Health Control, one in five Americans have admitted to pee in the pool. Urine it’s not only discussing, it also contains some serious unhealthy risks that everyone should know. When urine interferes with the chemically-treated water in the pool, it eats up the chlorine. Chlorine is needed to kill all harmful germs. Sweat and urine are the two components which make chlorine have no longer power into killing the dangerous parasites.

 

 

Over chlorination is another risk…

 

Even though, chlorine is essential when trying to keep the pool water as clean as possible, over-exposure of chlorine found in the pool water can trigger some other health problems. Many studies made have indicated that chlorine has the ability to help allergies and asthma develop. Also, it can be able to cause cancer. Even though the scale of this risk is small, it should still be considered. Especially when you spend a lot of time into public pools or occasionally swallow the water.

 

 

Beware of your lenses

 

Leaving your eye lenses in when swimming in the pool, is a very dangerous thing to do. Since it is estimated that eye infections make more than 1 million clinic and other emergency cases in a year, wearing lens in places filled with bacteria and other dangerous microorganisms is a big part of this fact. According to a latest report from The Centers for Disease Control, pool water is one of the main reasons that can make contact lenses potentially cause all kind of eye infections. So, next time don’t bring them with you if you care about your eyes…

 

 

Here are some hygiene tips to stay safe and contribute your part

 

– Try to never swallow pool water.

– Wash your hands as often as possible.

– Always shower before and after the swim

– Leave your contact lenses outside the pool

– Wear clean swimsuits

– Try to never stay for more than 30 minutes in the water

 

 

 


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