It’s July and temperatures have already reached levels I like to just call “stupid hot,” which clearly means that it’s time for pool season, right?
I mean, sure, if you like crowds, showering in front of strangers, and bathing in insane amounts of chlorine…
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Okay, fine, I’ll admit that I’m one of those people that doesn’t like public pools.
But I understand that many people do enjoy them and want to feel comfortable knowing that their family’s health is safe when taking a dip.
Which is probably why you clicked on an article with the words “CDC” and “poop parasite” in the headline.
The problem in question is “cryptosporidium” a parasite that causes “cryptosporidiosis” when humans ingest it.
Basically, in healthy adults, it gives you watery diarrhea lasting as long as three weeks.
Of course, when children, the elderly, pregnant women, or people with compromised immune systems get it, the effects can be stronger.
To get the parasite, you have to swallow some of it.
You can get it from various sources, but in a troubling new report from the CDC, about a third of outbreaks recorded in the last decade have begun in public pools.
Which means you really need to avoid swallowing pool water.
“But there’s so much chlorine that my eyes burn!” you may be thinking.
Which is another reason not to swallow the water, but in this case, the chlorine doesn’t help.
In a properly chlorinated and maintained pool, the parasite can still survive for up to seven days.
According to the CDC’s report, cases have increased each year by 12.8%.
Outbreaks spike in the summer months, for obvious reasons.
Okay, so don’t swallow pool water, but what about the people spreading it in the first place?
It seems obvious that you shouldn’t go for a swim when you have diarrhea, but when is it okay?
The CDC recommends that you should actually be waiting two weeks after your last bout of the runs. Just because you aren’t rushing to the toilet doesn’t mean you aren’t still contagious.
But two weeks is a long time during the summer months.
Still, considering that in a recent survey a quarter of people asked said they’d hop into the pool only an hour after a case of the runs, maybe we can have a compromise?
You won’t go swimming when you’ve recently spent more time in the bathroom than normal and I won’t swallow pool water? Okay?
h/t: CNN
