Any hotel worth its salt has a swimming
pool that also serves as a marketing tool. In the leaflets introducing
the available services, it is common to see photographs of tantalising
sky-blue pools that send you to the dreamland, even when you don’t know
how to swim.
Of course, inability to swim does not
necessarily disqualify anybody from using a swimming pool, as you can
laze about on the edge or sit in the shallow point while sipping your
favourite drinks or watching those who can swim.
Using the swimming pool sometimes
attracts higher pay in some hotels, especially for those living nearby
who may be expected to join an exclusive club set up for that purpose.
However, using public swimming pools
comes at a huge price to health, experts warn. For one, the average pool
user relieves himself in the pool, it turns out. And when the ammonia
in urine interacts with the chlorine that is usually used to treat
swimming pools, scientists say they form a chemical called chloramines,
which is known to cause birth defects and respiratory illnesses in
humans.
Last year, the most successful Olympic
athlete in history, Michael Phelps, confessed to relieving himself in
the swimming pool. The 18-time gold medallist seemed to speak in support
of team-mate Ryan Lochte, who had earlier confessed to using the
aquatics centre pool as a lavatory.
Reports quote 27-year-old Phelps as
saying, “Everybody pees in the pool. It’s kind of a normal thing to do
for swimmers. When we’re in the water for two hours, we don’t really get
out to pee. Chlorine kills it, so it’s not bad.”
As for Lochte, 28, who has won five
Olympic gold medals, he confesses, “I think there’s just something about
getting into chlorine water that you just automatically go.”
With these confessions from world-class swimmers, what do you think is the situation of the public pools around you?
A report published online in livescience.com states that public swimming pools are more dangerous than anyone might think.
The researchers contend that “When sweat
and urine, among other organics, mix with the disinfectants in pool
water, the result can be hazardous to health.”
The findings attribute the use of
disinfectants in recreational pools to genetic cell damage that has been
linked with adverse health issues such as asthma and bladder cancer.
Indeed, a professor of genetics at the
University of Illinois, Michael Plewa, warns that one in five people
urinate in public pools and that terrible as this is, only 23 per cent
of public pool users are concerned about the maintenance and care of the
swimming pools they jump into.
A big part of the problems, experts say,
is that 35 per cent of pool users don’t take their bath before using
public swimming pools, and that that’s why most public pools contain
recreational water bacteria caused by the presence of diarrhoea,
respiratory illnesses and ear and skin infections.
Plewa also notes that most public pools
don’t use environmentally sound disinfectant agents in the water.
Instead, he says, they use brominating agents.
“When these brominating agents mix with
carbon-friendly substances like sweat, fecal matter, urine, hair, skin,
cosmetics, and sunscreen, it becomes toxic,” Plewa states. Researchers
say long-term exposure to pool water with these toxic mixtures could
cause gene mutations, induce birth defects, increase the ageing process,
cause respiratory ailments and possibly induce cancer.
At an annual meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, scientists revealed that
swimmers can contact antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a
strain of bacteria that can cause staph infections that are difficult
to treat with traditional anti-infection drugs such as methicillin.
They warn that this multiple-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
has become a deadly and growing problem in hospitals in recent years.
The scientists also express the fear that it only takes one infected
person to spread it to others.
Another cause for concern when using
public swimming pools is the poor quality of the water which, scientists
say, can lead to infection with E. Coli — a nasty bug whose symptoms of infection may include low fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and bloody diarrhoea.
To allay our fears, however, researchers
say there is actually no reason to shun swimming pools. Rather, they
advise people to take their bath before and after going in the water;
and to avoid the pool if you have an open wound.
For clean swimming pool
Pool maintenance workers are encouraged to:
•Drain the pools and thoroughly replenish the pool with fresh water before adding chlorine
•Using chlorine, with the aid of ultraviolet sunlight, is best.
•If the pool is indoors, chlorine and other methods need to be adopted.
•The best way to safeguard against the nasty toxicity of public pools is: don’t pee in the water.
•Change diapered babies often.
•Take a shower before jumping into the pool.
•If the pool is not clear and smells funny, or if the tiles are in poor working order, avoid swimming in it!
Source: environmentalgraffiti.com
For safe swimming
•Don’t swim when you have diarrhoea
•Don’t swallow pool water
•Practise good hygiene. Shower with soap before and after swimming
•Wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers
•If you are taking your kids to the pool, be sure to give them frequent bathroom breaks or check their diapers often
•Change diapers in a bathroom or a diaper-changing area, not at poolside
•Wash your children thoroughly (especially the rear end) with soap and water before they go swimming.
Source: abcnews.go.com
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