Common sense about waterborne illness

[Zep]

Swimming and Waterborne Diseases

Millions of people go swimming and wading each year, and most of them don't
get sick.

But the actual incidence of water borne disease is not known. Swimming is
communal bathing. When you are in the water you are bathing with everyone
else in the pool, waterpark, hot tub, spa, lake, river, or ocean.

Germs in contaminated water can enter your system if you accidentally swallow
the water, and can cause infection in your eyes, nose, ears, as well as in cuts
and scrapes.

A pool usually becomes contaminated with germs after someone has a fecal "accident" in the pool.

These accidents may be in the form of watery diarrhea. Therefore they are not
as easily noticed as a formed stool.

What kinds of diseases can I catch from swimming?
A variety of diarrheal diseases and other infections such as skin, ear, and
respiratory infections have been linked to swimming. However diarrhea is
one of the most common illnesses associated with swimming. Diarrhea is
spread when disease-causing germs from human or animal feces get into
the water. You can get diarrhea by accidentally swallowing small amounts
of water that contains these germs.

Doesn't the chlorine in the pool, hot tub, and spa kill all the germs?
No. Chlorine does a good job of killing most germs, but it does not sterilize
the water. A few germs can survive normal pool, hot tub, and spa levels
of chlorine for several hours to days. Chlorine must be maintained at proper
levels to kill most germs. The high water temperature of hot tubs and spas
may cause chlorine to evaporate faster. As a result, chlorine levels in hot tubs
and spas need to be checked more regularly than in swimming pools.
Remember: even if you can smell the chlorine odor the water is not germ
free.

Skin infections are the most common infections spread through hot tubs
and spas


Healthy Swimming Tips

Continue to make swimming an enjoyable experience by following
these steps to avoid illness.

DO NOT enter the water if you have diarrhea.
People can spread germs in the water even without having an "accident."

DO NOT swallow the water!
Remember: it's everybody's bath water and chlorine does not kill all
the germs.

DO wash your hands and bottom thoroughly with soap and water after a
bowel movement or changing diapers. Germs on hands end up everywhere,
including the water.

DO take your child to the toilet for bathroom breaks often.

DO wash your child thoroughly, especially his or her bottom, with soap and
water before swimming. Everyone has invisible amounts of fecal matter on his
or her bottom that ends up in the water.

DO NOT count on swim diapers or pants to keep fecal matter from leaking into
the water. These products are not leakproof. Remember to take your child to
the toilet often.

[anne]

I'm glad my spa is not public!

[Ehizzle]

 

[hot tub Frank]

this is why i use bromine and not clorine.
but i do have kids in the tub.

LOL

[Ehizzle]

This is why I stand firm on my belief that all public swimming pools should be at boiling tempuratures.

[Vinny]

This is why you need to bring your chlorine (or bromine) levels higher every so often to get the buggers who are resistant to "normal" levels.

BTW hot tub Frank, chlorine is more powerful than bromine so if chlorine doesn't do the job I don't think bromine will either.

[Brewman]

Chlorine is a very effective sanitizer- I use it to sanitize my homebrewing equipment.
 And like the spa world, it works well, and is relatively inexpensive.  Yet it has it's downsides.  I use good old Clorox for the beer making equipment.

Again as in the spa world, there are many other brewing equipment sanitizers to choose from.  They all have some small advantage over chlorine in one or two areas, but at a trade off somewhere else.
  I use Iodophor (iodine based) sometimes, for example.  Only a very small amount is needed to do the job, contact time is much shorter, and no rinsing is needed.  
The downside is that it's more expensive, and can stain some plastics.  

  Sanitizing is what we get in both brewing and spa use.  Sanitizing knocks the level of pathogens (the things you are trying to kill) do an acceptable level, but doesn't totally eliminate them.  The only way to do that is with sterilization- and that is very impractical (and unecessary) for both spas and beer brewing.

[In Canada eh]

Most of the problems with drinking water/ pool & tub water are caused by fecal matter ( e-coli ) and can cause a number of illnesses, however most are intestinal in nature and are not serious.  Large scale outbreaks,Walkerton, Collingwood and Milwauke(sp) can be much more serious.  A good chemical routine followed correctly should prevent any problems.  Obviuosly if someone has a "accident" in the tub you  may want to drain it

[Brewman]

Happens occasionslly at the health club we belong to- A "Baby Ruth" gets released into the pool, and it closes for a day for "super chlorination", or whatever they do after they remove the offending material.  Whatever their method, it must work, since the place hasn't had any illness outbreaks.  
 
 Ironically, there are more problem around here with public beaches being closed due to e-coli and pals than public pools.  Danged dirty fishes.............

[Reese]

Ironically, there are more problem around here with public beaches being closed due to e-coli and pals than public pools.  Danged dirty fishes.............

I thought they usually blamed beach closings on dirty geese or farm animals.

[Zep]

I know this is gross....but wouldn't there almost always be traces of human fecal matter in tub water after a bunch of people has been in a tub??

Especially with nude soakers.....without getting too graphic.....ok i will.....some people "wipe" better than others and you know common sense says not everyone getting into your tub is a "good wiper". I see signs all the time in restaurant restrooms saying "Employees Wash Hands" and then you see some bozo comeout of a stall and walk out the door without washing his hands. 

[Reese]

I know this is gross....but wouldn't there almost always be traces of human fecal matter in tub water after a bunch of people has been in a tub??

Yes, and that is why a sanitizer residual is a good idea... and putting your head under the water, or letting tub water get in your mouth is a bad one.  

[bosco0633]

the local school where my 3 year old goes swimming is heated to 100.  It is like a sauna bath in there, but I hope that it is sanitized properly.  The water looks good, and we have not had any issues yet.

[Bama]

I know this is gross....but wouldn't there almost always be traces of human fecal matter in tub water after a bunch of people has been in a tub??

Especially with nude soakers.....without getting too graphic.....ok i will.....some people "wipe" better than others and you know common sense says not everyone getting into your tub is a "good wiper". I see signs all the time in restaurant restrooms saying "Employees Wash Hands" and then you see some bozo comeout of a stall and walk out the door without washing his hands. 

Zep,

Thanks for saying what I'm sure some of us were thinking.  You are right...there are people out there who walk around with "racing stripes" in their undies, these are the people to watch out for.  So, when you have guests over for a spa party...slip back inside and check their undies!  That way you'll know who to invite back!

 

[tony]

A local private country club had an outbreak of giardia, an intestinal parasite, last year.  Almost impossible to tell where it came from, but it is more common than I ever thought.  I had a personal experience with giardia many years ago from what I now guess is a swimming pool in Venezuala.  I came home bug free, but only because I was so sick that my body expelled every living and dead thing inside it.  The other three with me did not fall ill but brought the bug home with them.