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

Post by ams6110 » Wed, Feb 20, 2019, 7:36 PM UTC

jschwartzi wrote: post #170

tyingq wrote: post #54

So how much water do you need before it's socially acceptable? I pee in the lake. What about a large pond or a really huge pool in a water park?

I've always been told not to urinate or defecate within 100 feet of water sources in the backcountry because if everyone does it it builds up and then the water is unsafe to drink even when filtered. The 6 micron filters used to filter giardia from the water will not filter viruses, which are present in your feces. Please stop doing this.

Post by eesmith » Wed, Feb 20, 2019, 7:42 PM UTC

fosco wrote: post #175

eesmith wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Post by dotancohen » Wed, Feb 20, 2019, 7:51 PM UTC

tsmarsh wrote: post #86

illumin8 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would never swim in a pool like this. Every pool I've been to required toddlers to wear special swim diapers to prevent exactly this scenario. There are some really nasty diseases that can spread through human waste, and I would not want to come in contact with them.

Parent of two kids that have used swim diapers. I would be very surprised if those diapers were even 10% effective. Out of the pool they're basically 0% effective. And yes, I've read the instructions, and spoken to the folks who run the pool. Mostly I think they're just there to keep the poop in long enough to get the kid out of the pool.

Post by phyzome » Wed, Feb 20, 2019, 7:59 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #58

deepGem wrote: 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.

Post by nck4222 » Wed, Feb 20, 2019, 8:04 PM UTC

mbrameld wrote: post #191

nck4222 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 grosse…

Your comment appears to suggest you would find it not unpleasant to swim in a pool entirely filled with urine. Or do you acknowledge the fact that a lower concentration of bodily fluids in a swimming pool is more attractive as a swimmer?