With summer approaching, I think this is an important issue. Being a certified pool and spa operator, I can tell you this is a bigger danger than most people know. Chemical levels are often not what they should be, frankly, because many operators don’t know what they are doing or don’t care. I am very leary of all public pools and it’s a given I’m not getting in a hot tub unless it’s mine. I carry a test kit with me. (yes, I am obsessive about this issue because I know the hidden dangers) I’ve been in 5 star hotels where the condition of the water in the pools and spas was so bad it was even visually apparent. At municipal pools, many times it’s not checked that people shower prior to getting in the pool, babies aren’t checked to be sure they have swim diapers on, people get in with their clothes or with their underwear on under swim trunks. The staff is often underpaid, young, not trained properly and they don’t give a crap. Look for these things, and if you see them, file a complaint. I could go on and on about this……but I’ll leave it at this. Beware.

By Denise Mann
WebMD FeatureReviewed by Louise Chang, MD

First Jaws kept millions of Americans out of the water, and now some experts fear that the rapid increase of recreational water illnesses (RWI) may do the same thing. And they caution that with the soaring rates of childhood obesity, anything that prevents kids from getting regular exercise — including swimming — may do more harm than good.

RWI refers to any illness or infection caused by organisms that contaminate water in pools, lakes, hot tubs, and oceans, resulting in diarrhea, skin rashes, swimmer’s ear, and other conditions. And they are on the rise. The rate has more than doubled in the past 10 years, according to data from the CDC.

“No one who swims is safe from RWIs,” says Alan Greene, MD, an assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., and author of several books including From First Kicks to First Steps.

In the summer of 1975, Jaws had beachgoers heeding the advice of the movie’s tagline, “Don’t go in the water.” But unlike great white sharks that may lurk below the ocean’s surface, simple prevention methods as well as quick treatment can help keep RWIs at bay — where they belong, Greene says. “Not swallowing water and drying your ears can reduce the great majority of RWIs,” he says.

As with most things, the best defense is a good offense.

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