Healthy Swimming:
Stay Well This Summer

May 22 ­ 29 is Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week

There are some 50 miles of beaches and more than 2,500 commercial pools and spas in Pinellas County. Each year, residents and visitors alike make countless visits to recreational water venues such as swimming pools, water parks, spas, lakes and beaches. Swimming the second most popular physical activity in the country (walking is first) and the most popular among children. Unfortunately, recreational water use can also be associated with drowning, injury and the spread of infectious diseases.

This year, the week leading up to Memorial Day has been designated as the second annual Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week - to highlight the importance of healthy swimming, healthy swimming behaviors and recreational water illness prevention.

Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs) are spread by swallowing, breathing or having contact with contaminated water from swimming venues. The water may become contaminated as a result of poorly-maintained recreational water venues and pools, the presence of chlorine-resistant germs, or runoff-related contamination of lakes, Gulf, Bay or ocean beaches. The most commonly reported RWI is diarrhea caused by pathogens such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Shigella, and Ecoli O157:H7. Other RWIs can cause various symptoms, including skin, ear, eye, respiratory and neurological infections.

Recreational water provides an opportunity for individuals to increase their physical activity and enjoy their leisure time. Public awareness of Recreational Water Illnesses (RWI¹s) and appropriate swimming behaviors play a pivotal role in helping prevent transmission of potentially serious illnesses. Swimmers who are ill with diarrhea may contaminate swimming venues, and this poses health risks for healthy swimmers. Children, pregnant women, and individuals with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk from RWIs.

The Pinellas County Health Department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urge area residents and visitors to continue to enjoy the benefits of swimming, but only after adopting healthy swimming behaviors that will protect themselves, their families and fellow swimmers from the spread of illness.

Healthy swimming behaviors include:

1.     Don¹t swim when you have diarrhea. You can spread germs in the water and make others sick.

2.     Don¹t swallow pool water. In fact, avoid getting any water you swim in, in your mouth.

3.     Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers. Germs on your body can end up in the water.

4.     Take children on bathroom breaks and change diapers often. Waiting to hear, ³I have to go!² may mean that it¹s too late.

5.     Change diapers in a bathroom ­ not at poolside. Germs can spread to surfaces and objects in and around the pool and spread illness.

6.     Wash your child thoroughly with soap and water before they go into a swimming pool. Everyone has invisible amounts of fecal matter on their bottoms that end up in the swimming water.

The Pinellas County Health Department's environmental engineering division monitors area Bay and Gulf waters and commercial pools for safe swimming factors. Our Healthy Beaches program monitors 14 beaches in Pinellas County. To see the bacterial sampling results from area beaches, visit www.doh.state.fl.us . Select "Beach Water Quality" from the drop-down menu, and then click on Pinellas County. An explanation of the sampling results is displayed, along with information on any advisories/warnings issued against swimming at a certain beach location.