Swimming: Horrors in the Water

What lurks within the waters that you swim? Could it be that what you can't see be making you or your children ill? Could it be deadly? Some of the illnesses that you get from hot tubs, swimming pools, lakes or the ocean can make you itchy, ill or kill. It is time to get the facts.

Each year in May, the week before Memorial Day, marks Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week. It may sound like a bit of a downer before the beginning of the summer swimming and boating season; however, what you don't know may be hurting or kill you.

Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs) are illnesses that are spread by bacteria, parasites, or viruses in pool, lake or ocean water. The most common RWI is spread through contact with fecal material. A person who has poor hygiene or diarrhea can easily contaminate a pool. To put it as bluntly as possible, it's a problem if there is poop in the pool! The most common illnesses these cause are called Cryptosporidiosis and Gigiardia Intetinalis. Even these words sound atrocious and horrific.

Cryptosporidiosis

Cryptosporidiosis (Crypto) is a type of parasite that can be contracted through ingestion of contaminated food by fecal material of animals or humans. If water is accidentally swallowed when swimming you can become infected. Signs and symptoms of this illness are:

Watery diarrhea
Stomach upset and/or cramps
Slight fever
Dehydration
Weight Loss

Those with healthy immune symptoms are often sick for up to two weeks. Even though they get better, they can still pass it to others through their stool for the next two months. Not everyone that swallows the parasite (cryptosporiduium oocyts) becomes ill but they can be carriers of the disease. For most people it is the misery of the runs for those with compromised immune systems it can be life threatening.

Gigiardia Intetinalis

The second most common little horror that may be in the water, that can harm you, is Gigiardia Intetinalis. It too is a parasite and like Crypto this little critter lives in the intestine and gets passed in, you guessed it, the stool. Just like Crypto it has a tough protective outer shell which lets it live outside the body for a long time and it is resistant to chemicals like the chlorine that is put into pools. Signs and symptoms of this illness are similar to Crypto.

Diarrhea
Gas
Greasy stools (these are floaters)
Cramps
Stomach
Nausea

If symptoms are severe, it may lead to dehydration and weight loss. The lucky few won't have any symptoms. The illness is called Giardiasis and it lasts 1 to 2 weeks. It can be fatal to those who are immune compromised.

If you or your family members become ill after swimming, seek medical attention. For further information, watch for Part II of "Swimming: Horrors in the Water".

Source:

http://www.cdc.gov/healthySwimming/rwi_prevention_week.htm