Germs in America's Water Parks

Are Our Water Parks as Clean as You Think?

Kyle S.
During the summer months in America, Water Parks become the main attraction all over. Attracting millions of visitors every year, it's a well known fact that there also other things attracted to the Water Parks you may not want to know about. For the most part these beautiful parks are clean and very user friendly but there are still instances that might have you think a little bit.

Have you ever considered the water quality? or how clean the water really is in these parks? Just think about it for a minute. They do get cleaned everyday usually but in between those cleanings you have thousands of kids and adults who are spreading their germs into the water along with engulfing and spitting out water, people sneeze and cough in the pools and people even find it necessary to go the bathroom in them, especially kids. My point from all of this is has anyone considered the consequences of having a sick kid spilling his germs all over or even having the spread of bacteria getting on your skin and inside you? It just disgusts me personally.

You never hear national news broadcasts of massive germ spread in Water Parks but they do exist and a little more persistent than you think! There is really nothing you can do about this because you can't just clean the pools every 5 minutes to prevent this because nobody would put up with pool cleaning closures every 5 minutes. You really just have to take caution while using Water Parks this summer. Where nose plugs and ear plugs and even goggles if you want to be more careful and try to avoid inhaling too much water.

Let me share a quick story with you that may surprise you. Last summer me and some family members and a few friends of mine had gone to MI Water Park for the day. We had decided to go to the wave pool because who doesn't love a wave pool? So we were in there for at least 3 hours because we just felt like riding waves I guess. Well in the afternoon in the summertime, it was pretty much wall to wall people there and very crowded. We were at the very front of the wave pool on a raft and needless to say once it started up we didn't last too long on it. One of my buddies had gotten us tipped and we all fell off. Well he ended up cutting his big toe off the bottom of the wave pool which was very rough surprisingly. Bottom line, my buddy had to have his foot removed due to a severe infection from the cut he received.

I will say that some of this is because the doctor had treated it improperly but he had no idea the scale of infection he was dealing with and neither did any of us. He had to lose his foot due to an infection he got when he cut his toe in a wave pool. Never in my life had I dreamed of that happening but it goes to show you that some of these Water Parks just are not as clean as people may guess.

I know the staff can only do so much and most of the bacteria in these pools are inevitable but this is why people that visit these parks need to take caution while swimming and enjoying themselves. My suggestion is if you ever receive a cut in a Water Park like in a pool or even on a side walk because people walk barefoot all the time at Water Parks, would be to see your doctor to make sure it's not severely infected because you obviously never know.

I will never look at Water Parks the same after this past year. I mean it's really astounding if you think about it the amount of bacteria and germs in these pools that people consume and they don't even think about it. Just use caution when you go. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying Don't visit Water Parks because I know they can be fun and a great summertime attraction but people should be cautious when swimming. Always use goggles, nose plugs and ear plugs when swimming. The pools may look clean and refreshing but looks can be deceiving.

Published by Kyle S.

My names Kyle, I live in MI and I have all my life. So far I have no intentions on leaving unless the economy here doesn't pick up soon. I enjoy sports such as NASCAR, NFL, MLB and I also love music which...  View profile

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  • Always Use Goggles, Nose Plugs and Ear Plugs
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1,000's of kids and adults can share the same pool everyday. Even more germs and bacteria will also join them and they don't even think about it.

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  • No Way7/15/2011

    Luckily the human body is equipped with an immune system, right? So if we come into contact with germs at water parks or elsewhere, most times our immune system can fight of the germs and we remain healthy... Also, the author should know that the water at these parks is treated with chemicals, primarily chlorine, to kill any harmful germs. So in many respects this is the least likely place to get seriously ill. The water is tested frequently throughout the day to monitor the chlorine levels and to make sure the chemicals are doing their jobs. If water parks were causing any serious or widespread illnesses in the U.S., of course we'd be aware of it and the CDC would be issuing warnings, etc. ...This article is so poorly written and does not appear to contain a single fact or even a smidgen of research! Just a rant by a germophobe. Disapointing.

  • bart4/12/2010

    try just cleaning-just a thought.

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