Second to walking, swimming is the most popular exercise in the U.S., with more than 368 million visits to swimming pools annually. However, swimming is communal bathing. When you are in the water you are bathing with everyone else in the pool. You can get sick when germs from swimmers contaminate the water. Diarrhea is the most common disease associated with swimming and is contracted by swallowing contaminated water. A pool usually becomes contaminated with germs after someone has had an "accident" in the pool. Even though home pools have relatively few people swimming in them, you still need to be concerned about diseases spread through pool water.

Many people don't realize that illness can be spread through water. If they can smell the chlorine they believe the pool water is sterile. Chlorine does not sterilize the water (make water germ free), but it does a good job of killing most germs. However, a few germs can survive normal pool, hot tub and spa levels of chlorine for several hours to even days. For chlorine to be effective, it 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 needs to be checked more regularly than in swimming pools. Remember, even if you can smell the chlorine odor, pool, hot tub and spa water is not always germ free.

Diarrhea is currently the most frequently reported illness associated with swimming pools. The number of outbreaks of diarrhea connected with swimming pools is on the increase. The CDC reports that cryptosporidium is the major germ that causes outbreaks in swimming pools where its extreme chlorine resistance and small size makes it a difficult problem for even the best-equipped and well-maintained pools. Some of these outbreaks have affected thousands of swimmers. Much of the diarrheal illness happen during the summer swim season. Most diarrheal outbreaks in pools appear to be related to accidental stool contamination of the water by someone who is ill with diarrhea. Tiny amounts of fecal matter rinse from all swimmers' bottoms as they swim through the water. Infectious diarrhea can contain hundreds of millions of germs in a single accident. Because water from many pools often mixes quickly, germs can be distributed throughout connected pools in a very short amount of time. If someone then swallow the contaminated water, they may become infected and develop diarrhea or other illnesses.

Surfaces Around The Pool

Remember, not only are germs spread through the water, but also lounge chairs and tables can become contaminated with microscopic amounts of fecal matter when parents use the furniture as diaper-changing areas. The invisible fecal matter left behind may be easily transferred to the next person using the pool furniture.

Swim Diapers/Pants

Kids who wear diapers or are just being toilet trained are more likely to have accidents in the water. The use of swim diapers and swim pants may give many parents a false sense of security. Swim diapers are likely to hold in solid feces to some extent, but no information exists on how well they are able to keep infection-causing germs from slowly leaking into the pool. Whether they are able to prevent diarrheal stools from leaking into the pool is unknown, but its unlikely, even though many pools are now requiring swim pants or diapers.

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