Just when you thought it was safe to dive into the water, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drops a bombshell: a disgusting, diarrhea-inducing parasite is on the rise in our favorite swimming spots! Meet “cryptosporidium,” or “crypto” for short. Isn’t it amusing that a parasite associated with… well, poop, has a name that sounds like it belongs in a Pixar movie? Crypto can survive for up to ten days in chlorinated water, unlike E. coli, which gets dispatched in under a minute in a properly maintained pool. So, I took the CDC’s advice and downloaded their Healthy Swimming app to uncover the dirty details about germs we bring into our swimming pools. While I object to the idea that I might be a germ carrier, I did learn some eye-opening facts:
- Many pool facilities share a single filtration system across multiple pools. This means that if one unfortunate soul indulges in some bad clams, it could lead to a waterpark-wide contamination. Yikes!
- Crypto has a tough, protective outer shell, making it resilient against chlorine and allowing it to thrive in even well-treated pools.
- Your backyard plastic pool can be a breeding ground for recreational water illnesses (RWIs), as they typically lack chlorine and filtration systems.
- You might want to rethink drinking from public pool water (sorry, hydration plans for summer!) and avoid sitting on the jets! Who knew that a concentrated stream of potentially contaminated water wasn’t a great idea? Live and learn!
- Those fun “interactive fountains” are great for cooling off, but beware: in the summer of 2005, one such spraypark was linked to 1,700 infections and 425 confirmed crypto cases. Talk about a splash of bad news!
- Over 20% of American adults are clueless that swimming while suffering from diarrhea can contaminate pools. I must admit, I was in that 20%, but the thought of swimming with diarrhea is so repugnant that I’m confident I’ve never contributed to the problem.
- There are more than 7.3 million hot tubs operating across the United States. Not sure if that’s a lot or a little, but it’s a fun fact to throw into conversations to lighten up the poop talk this summer.
So there you have it! Armed with this knowledge, you can take a deep breath (not in the pool) and swim with a little more awareness. And if you’re interested in more about starting your own family journey, be sure to check out this other blog post for more insights. For expert advice on your fertility journey, visit Make a Mom, a reliable resource on this topic. Plus, if you’re considering pregnancy options, CCRM IVF is an excellent resource to help guide you.
In summary, there’s a lot more lurking in the water than we thought, and being informed can help keep our swimming experiences safe and enjoyable!