Urgent Warning: Don’t Swallow the Water When Swimming in the Pool

Jun 8, 2017 by Justin Vict

Now that it’s summer, you’re probably looking forward to heading to the public pool and having pool parties! But whatever you do – don’t swallow the pool water. You could end up with diarrhea and more!

Have you been looking forward to going swimming in the pool since the winter? You probably don’t care if you’re going to swim in a private or public pool. You probably figure that there’s no danger because the pool water is continuously disinfected with so much chlorine that it burns your eyes, right? And you’ve probably heard that nothing can live in pool water, so you’re not really worried about anyone else’s germs. But now experts are warning you that this assumption is wrong and that you shouldn’t drink the pool water if you’re swimming in a pool with a lot of strangers.

Cryptosporidiosis is an infection caused by a parasite called cryptosporidium, which is commonly referred to as “crypto.” The parasite infests your gastrointestinal tract and causes diarrhea for up to 21 days. The infection can also cause nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. Complications can arise if the chronic diarrhea causes dehydration because your colon can’t absorb any water before it passes as watery stool.

The problem is cryptosporidium has a tough outer shell that makes it resistant to chlorine in swimming pools. Because of this, the parasite can live for up to 10 days in a chlorinated pool. That’s why experts are warning everyone not to drink the pool water. They’re trying to correct the long-standing false sense of security that chlorinated swimming pools give to the public.

Is the Crypto Threat Real?

Experts are spreading awareness about pool water and crypto because the number of infections have increased almost exponentially. In 2014, only 16 cases of crypto infections from swimming pools or water parks were reported. But in 2016, the number of cases doubled to 32. The number of overall Arizona crypto infections reported in 2016 was 352, but there were only 62 reported cases per year total between 2011 and 2015!

Ohio shares a similar fate – last year it had 1,940 reported cases, but only had 571 reported cases per year between 2012 and 2015.

The surge in number of reported cases worries experts – especially because the parasite causes up to a month of diarrhea-wrenched agony, and that it’s easily spread in pools.

Bottom line: Play it safe and don’t drink the pool water. It’s yucky anyway! Now you know pool water isn’t safe despite the high levels of disinfectant.