The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wants to educate you so you stay safe during your summer activities, like swimming. "We think that swimming is a really fantastic activity," said Michael J. Beach, associate director of the CDC's Healthy Water program, according to Women's Health Magazine. "We want to keep it that way."
Why is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention getting involved in your vacation plans? Well, you know how you get red, bloodshot eyes after swimming? The chlorine does that... right?
"It's quite the opposite," said Beach. "Chlorine binds with all the things it's trying to kill from your bodies, and it forms these chemical irritants. That's what's stinging your eyes. It's the chlorine binding to the urine and the sweat."
He said it. Your eyes are red because of all the pee, according to a CDC report. Yes, be it a public pee pool or in your own backyard, urine is the reason your eyes are irritated. And that cough you get when using an indoor pool? The trapped chemical reaction (chlorine + urine) is actually what is irritating your lungs.
Before you search online for that dye that turns the yellow stuff into shame-on-you-for-peeing-in-the-pool red, that's a myth. No such dye exists, according to Snopes. "That dye is a complete myth," Beach confirmed. "It's about scaring people into not urinating in the pool."
Gross, right? Beach isn't through with us yet.
"We have a new parasitic germ that has emerged that's immune to chlorine," Beach said. "We've got to keep it out of the pool in the first place. We need additional barriers." People with diarrhea and diapered babies aren't the only ones to blame, which is why public pools often have showers so swimmers can rinse off before diving in. The germs causing Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs) are also carried on our skin. "If you're talking about thousands of people using the same pool, those germs can really add up," Beach said.
The CDC suspects that a recent outbreak of the norovirus started with an infected swimmer. "If you're swimming next to someone who has diarrhea, there's no protection," Beach said, according to Women's Health
So how do we avoid the ick while staying cool this summer? Avoid pools when you're sick or have open wounds. (For information on a deadly flesh-eating disease contracted in Georgia and Florida recently, check out the "Related Articles" section below). Never, ever urinate, defecate or vomit in a pool.
Surf's up!
