Pool chemical-related injuries sent 5,000 people to the hospital in 2012.
About half of these preventable injuries occurred in children and teenagers, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) news release reported.
About a third of these injuries occurred at home. These types of injuries were most common during the summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day; they were also more common on the weekends.
"Chemicals are added to the water in pools to stop germs from spreading. But they need to be handled and stored safely to avoid serious injuries," said Michele Hlavsa, chief of CDC's Healthy Swimming Program.
The CDC released a set of guidelines to help pool owners and users stay safe this summer: "read and follow directions on product labels; Wear appropriate safety equipment, such as goggles and masks, as directed, when handling pool chemicals; Secure pool chemicals to protect people and animals; Keep young children away when handling chemicals; NEVER mix different pool chemicals with each other, especially chlorine products with acid; Pre-dissolve pool chemicals ONLY when directed by product label; Add pool chemical to water, NEVER water to pool chemicals," the news release reported.
The study looked at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) to make the findings. NEISS gathers data on injuries linked to consumer products by looking at emergency room records.
Chorine and bromine take several minutes to kill germs, they do not disinfect pools immediately as some people believed.
"So it is important that everyone help keep germs out of the water in the first place by not swimming when ill with diarrhea and taking kids on bathroom breaks. Protect yourself by not swallowing pool water," the news release reported.
Recreational water illnesses (RWIs) include "gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurologic, and wound infections.," the CDC reported.
