Enjoy Swimming, But Don’t Drink the Pool Water

Swallowing pool water can make you sick

It happens. You cannonball into the pool and swallow a mouthful of water. Or your kid sticks their face in a jet at the splash pad, and it shoots up their nose. You spit out what you can quickly. Even so, some of that water is now in your stomach.

Seems innocent enough, but that pool water you just drank could make you sick.

“Chlorine, the chemical in pool water, can make you sick if you swallow enough of it. And if you swallow the water or it goes up your nose, it could expose you to E. coli, norovirus and parasites,” explains Lia Crispell, a certified nurse practitioner with Geisinger.

Contrary to popular belief, adding chlorine to a pool does not instantly kill all the infectious stuff in the water. In fact, it takes several minutes to a few days to kill all the germs in a pool. The parasite Cryptosporidium (also known as Crypto), can survive for more than 10 days in pool water.

“Crypto is pretty tolerant of chlorine even in a pool that’s well-maintained and monitored,” said Ms. Crispell. “People infected with Crypto can experience diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting for up to 3 weeks. And they can carry Crypto for up to 2 weeks after they get well.”

There’s bodily waste in the pool

How do these germs get in the pool — or the splash pad or hot tub — in the first place? Swimmers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we each carry 0.14 grams of feces into the pool when we take a dip, and that doesn’t count people who might have diarrhea.

And then there’s people who pee in the pool. One study found that 1 in 5 adults — yes adults — say they do this. And those are the folks willing to admit it to a researcher. Maybe they heard dilution is the solution, but that’s false.

While it won’t hurt you immediately if you pee in the pool, it does mix with the chlorine to create a harmful chemical, chloramine. Usually, the chemical smell at the pool isn’t chlorine at all, it’s the chloramine created from chlorine mixing with sweat, feces, skin cells, deodorant, makeup and a dose of pee.

“Chloramine irritates the eyes and lungs,” explains Ms. Crispell. “Plus, when chlorine is tied up reacting to human cells, it’s not fighting the germs and parasites that are also lurking in the water. Do us all a favor, and pee in the restroom.”

Germs you can catch from drinking pool water

After being exposed to germs in the pool water, you might not get sick immediately. Bacteria and viruses typically cause illness within a few days. Illness from a parasite might not start until weeks later. Typical symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, fever and fatigue that, in some cases, can last for weeks.

Illnesses you can catch in pool water include:

Parasites: Crypto and Giardia
Bacteria: E. coli and Shigella
Viruses: Norovirus

“If you’ve had vomiting for more than 8 hours, diarrhea for more than 3 days or show signs of dehydration like dark yellow urine, it’s important to seek medical care,” urges Ms. Crispell.

Tips if your child gets sick after swimming

Children are more likely to get sick after swimming because they swallow pool water more often and they tend to swim longer.

If your child is coughing for more than 20 minutes after swallowing a lot of water, this could mean they inhaled water and need urgent medical care. Far more often, germs in pool water or a splash pad cause diarrhea or vomiting. Watch your child closely if they get sick and seek medical care if they’re getting dehydrated.

To keep your children healthy:

Teach children not to drink or swallow pool water.
Take children for bathroom breaks every 60 minutes after entering the pool.
Check and change pool diapers regularly away from the water.
Never swim or let your kids swim if they’ve had diarrhea in the last 2 weeks.

Keep your pool water clean and healthy

When it comes to keeping bacteria and parasites out of your pool water, prevention is key. Proper pool maintenance with the right chlorine level kills most germs that could make you sick.

As a swimmer, you have a huge role to play in keeping your pool healthy for all. You should:

Shower for at least 1 minute before entering the pool, which rinses off body fluids, deodorant and makeup that reacts with chlorine.
Stay out of the pool if you have diarrhea and for 2 weeks afterward.
Never pee or poop in the pool.
Stay out of the water with an open cut or wound. If you do go in, cover any open wounds completely with a waterproof bandage.