You can get swimming-related illnesses if you swallow, have contact with, or breathe in mists or aerosols from water contaminated with germs. You can also get them by having contact with
chemicals that are in the water or that evaporate from the water and turn into gas in the air.
Diarrhea is the most common swimming-related illness. People who are already sick with diarrhea can spread it to others when they get in recreational water. People typically have about 0.14 grams of poop (similar to a few grains of sand) on their bodies at any given time. When a person who is sick with diarrhea gets in the water, that tiny amount of poop on their body can wash into the water around them and contaminate it with germs. If someone else swallows the contaminated water, they can become infected.
Other swimming-related illnesses—such as skin, ear, respiratory, eye and other infections can be caused by germs that naturally live in the water and soil. If the chemicals used to kill germs (chlorine or bromine) in pools, hot tubs, and water playgrounds are not kept at the right level, these germs can multiply and make swimmers sick.
Resources
- CDC Swimming Related Illnesses
- Beach Monitoring in Virginia-Waterborne Disease
- CDC-Healthy Swimming in Oceans, Lakes and Rivers