Despite the precautions taken, pools, which are used to cool off in summer, carry risks in terms of infectious diseases and infections. Pointing out that pool infections are often confused with sunstroke or diarrhea and weakness due to nutrition, experts recommend not to swallow pool water and to use a swimming cap.
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Infectious Diseases Specialist Dr. Yakup Hakan Başaran said that there is a risk of many diseases despite the precautions taken in the pools entered to cool off in the summer months.
Provides a suitable environment for infectious diseases
"Today, although hygienic conditions have improved considerably and awareness has increased, we focus on criteria such as turbidity and algae growth, which we can perhaps only see with our eyes," said Specialist Dr. Yakup Hakan Başaran. Dr. Yakup Hakan Başaran said, "Most hygienic pools are inspected by public health laboratories for the presence of certain microorganisms, pH and chlorine levels. However, there is always a risk of disease. Apart from the risk of sunstroke, burns and drowning, contaminated water is one of the most suitable mediators for the spread of infectious diseases from person to person and from environment to environment."
Complaints attributed to sunstroke may be caused by the pool
Stating that pool infections are often confused with sunstroke, Uzm. Dr. Yakup Hakan Başaran said, "On the evening of the day we entered the pool or the next day, most of us have passed our complaints of diarrhea and weakness, which we pass off as sunstroke, which we attribute to the food we eat. However, a study conducted in the USA shows that the cryptosporidium parvum parasite can persist in the environment despite chlorination, no matter how regularly it is checked. It is explained that diarrhea caused by this microorganism is the most common type of enteritis after swimming pool use. Clinically, it is characterized by watery stools, abdominal pain, weakness, muscle aches, fever, loss of appetite and vomiting."
Ingestion of pool water causes serious diseases
Pointing out that this is not the only danger, Uzm. Prof. Dr. Yakup Hakan Başaran said, "There are other diseases that can occur by swallowing pool water. For example, shigella, the causative agent of bloody diarrhea that can occur after ingesting even a very small amount of 100 bacteria, coli bacillus, another famous bacterium, and Hepatitis A virus transmitted by contaminated water are other leading agents."
Failure to wear a headnet can lead to lice infestation
Uzm. Dr. Yakup Hakan Başaran concluded his words as follows:
"It is not only bacteria. It has been the subject of researches that people with long hair, especially those with long hair, swimming without using a swimming cap or without collecting their hair, can collect the "vinegar" that can be found in the new fashionable natural pools in their hair and get lice.
Be sure to tell your doctor that you have been in the pool
Not to mention that shared wet floors invite fungal infections that can be a serious public health problem. Each season has its own diseases. In any disease; especially when we go to the doctor with complaints such as summer diarrhea, allergies, skin fungus, we should definitely give our physician the information about the use of swimming pools, which is an important information for correct diagnosis."
