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Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

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171–180 of 353 posts

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#171
post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Urine is sterile. That's why it's good to pee on wounds. Edit: Wow, what harsh downmodding :) Yes I was wrong and learned something, isn't it still useful to keep my comment here for other's education? I literally heard this "urine is sterile" comment in the last couple of weeks. I stand corrected, thanks!

Really? Why do I bother lathering my hand for 20 seconds and losing fat and then rubbing alcohol on it after I accidentally splash a bit?

Because you don’t like the smell? You’re afraid other people will think you are gross? You have been trained to fear pee?

In normal circumstances getting urine on skin (or drinking small amounts of it for that matter) is not going to cause you any health problem. Urine contains various toxins your liver removed from your bloodstream, so drinking large amounts of it might not be the best idea.

Modern American (and possibly other) cultures have various taboos around cleanliness, including disgust about pee and peeing. But often these are not based on serious health fears.

Don’t pee on wounds though. Urine is not sterile. https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/gory-details/urine-not-ster...

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#173
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gosh this is not gonna go well with the public. I know several kids who just can't hold pee in the pool. They'll just let it out. Also its not like the toilets are right there. You often have to get out of the pool, walk like 100 yards or down a flight of stairs. It's a PITA. Even Michael Phelps once said in an interview that very rarely competitive swimmers get out of the pool to pee.

I'm constantly shocked and disgusted that people actually pee in pools and that it's not some joke someone made up somewhere.

I mean, what about all the other body fluids/debris that are in pools? Saliva, sweat, earwax, belly button lint, bird shit, insects, band-aids, small animal carcasses that get trapped in the filters but are removed before the pool opens?

There's no avoiding other peoples/animals grossness, frankly whether your in a pool or just out and about.

Urine may be gross, but it's sterile, and at least for me, there are grosser things in pools.

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#175
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The scent of bleach and the scent of "pool smell" are almost exactly the same to me.

strangemonad elsewhere here posted a link to a video evaluating the question of how much pee there is in pools, using the excretion of an artificial sweetener - which is only in urine and not, like urea, also in sweat - as the indicator. The presenter is also dubious about the origin of the smell, and thinks that it comes from the chlorine, not the trichloramine product of chlorine interacting with urea. So he tests…

is it possible that this is simply sweat instead of actual pee?

serious question - I thought sweat is mostly comprised of the same excretion. just surprised 'peeing in the pool' is so normal.

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#176
post #102
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Umm... that's why you pee before you get in the pool. 100 yards isn't that much to ask to avoid swimming around in your own, and other's piss. Those kids will be swimming around for hours exerting way more energy than the walk to the bathroom. FFS. This is why I don't swim in pools.

Uh, I hate to break it to you, but unless you swim in a dead body of water, there are worse things than human urine and feces in the water...

[deleted]

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#177

As a longtime swimmer and water polo player, my eyes have been absolutely wrecked by harsh pools many, many times. However, I don’t think it’s pee. First off, every swimmer pees in the pool. I have been a part of tens of thousands of man-hours in the pool and seen people get out to pee maybe three times. I have been in the first games of the day at water polo tournaments and have seen them chlorine shock the water fo…

Alternatively, just wear goggles while underwater? My eyes get easily irritated swimming as well but goggles are a godsend.

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#178
post #85
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gosh this is not gonna go well with the public. I know several kids who just can't hold pee in the pool. They'll just let it out. Also its not like the toilets are right there. You often have to get out of the pool, walk like 100 yards or down a flight of stairs. It's a PITA. Even Michael Phelps once said in an interview that very rarely competitive swimmers get out of the pool to pee.

Umm... that's why you pee before you get in the pool. 100 yards isn't that much to ask to avoid swimming around in your own, and other's piss. Those kids will be swimming around for hours exerting way more energy than the walk to the bathroom. FFS. This is why I don't swim in pools.

> This is why I don't swim in pools.

Meaning you swim in lakes/rivers instead? I doubt animal waste and decay products are better. At least the pool has chlorine.

Re: Pee, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes from Swimming Pools: CDC (2015)

#179
post #169
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, I hate to break it to you, but unless you swim in a dead body of water, there are worse things than human urine and feces in the water...

conversely, it seems like unless there are dead bodies in the water, human waste would be the worst likely contaminant. or am I missing something?

There's certainly the dead bodies/waste products of fish in natural water, and there's no chlorine to sterilize them.
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