“Caddyshack” said it best — “Doodie!” As in, Poop. In The. Pool. Eww. And where there’s No. 2 there could be Cryptosporidium, aka Crypto, a parasite that lives in the intestine of infected humans (or animals) and is the most common cause of diarrhea.
The Centers for Disease Control reports that there were 32 Crypto outbreaks linked to swimming pools and water playgrounds in 2016, twice as many as in 2014. It’s unclear whether the number of outbreaks has increased or whether better surveillance and laboratory methods are leading to better outbreak detection. Either way, pool season’s upon us and you need to take caution.
The bug can spread when people swallow something that’s come into contact with the feces of a sick person, and that includes pool water tainted with diarrhea.
It’s a vicious cycle of infection — and anything but a day at the beach. Crypto can make otherwise healthy people sick for up to three weeks with watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and or vomiting.
Crypto is extremely hard to kill at standard levels of pool disinfectants. CDC recommends closing pools and treating the water with high levels of chlorine.
Here are tips to stay healthy this summer.
Before you hit the pool:
* Don’t let kids who are sick with diarrhea swim in a pool, advises Michele Hlavsa, R.N., chief of CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program. Same goes if you’re the ailing one.
* If diarrhea is caused by Crypto, wait until two weeks after last incident to go swimming.
* Shower before getting in the water.
* Don’t change kids’ diapers near the pool.
When you’re in the pool:
* Don’t drink pool water.
* Take frequent bathroom breaks.