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Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

#11

Post by icebraining »

arethuza wrote: post #7
AnatMl2 wrote: post #4

>Actually, according to CDC healthy swimming spokesperson and epidemiologist Michele Hlavsa, it’s poop. She tells LiveScience’s Rachael Rettner that people with diarrhea can spread a filter and chorine-resistant Cryptosporidium, a parasite that is the leading cause of waterborne disease. I love swimming and this article has just disturbed me so much, I'm not sure I'll be going to the swimming pool in the near future.

My wife had an attack of cryptosporidium a few years back that the doctor said was almost certainly from a swimming pool - very unpleasant bug.

Was it covered or outdoors? The wiki says it can be deactivated using low doses of UV, I wonder if being exposed to the sun is enough.

Re: Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

#12

Post by arethuza »

icebraining wrote: post #11
arethuza wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife had an attack of cryptosporidium a few years back that the doctor said was almost certainly from a swimming pool - very unpleasant bug.

Was it covered or outdoors? The wiki says it can be deactivated using low doses of UV, I wonder if being exposed to the sun is enough.

Indoors - a public one that was close to end of life.

Re: Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

#13

Post by peterburkimsher »

Are there companies doing wastewater monitoring on pools for public health?

All kinds of disgusting things get flushed down toilets in homes and businesses. I think that monitoring a swimming pool would give more helpful data, because the bacteria/viruses/pollutants were all carried by humans.

Re: Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

#14

Post by arethuza »

hackandtrip wrote: post #9
sschueller wrote: post #2

That is why you should shower before going in to the pool. At school we were always required to shower before and after. One pool I have been at added a shower you have to go through to get to the pool. It's a continues curtain of water.

Slightly off topic, but you should shower to avoid temperature difference too, specially in hot days. I don't know about the lifeguard situation in USA, in Italy it's pretty terrible; it should be absolutely required to have a shower before jumping in the water.

Why are sudden temperature changes bad? When I was a kid in the north of Scotland we'd always jump in as gradual exposure to cold water was miserable - the shock of jumping in was always quite bracing ;-)

Mind you - as I doubt if it was much above 20C most of the time I doubt the temperature difference between air and water was that large!

Re: Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

#15

Post by newnewpdro »

People would take their infant children swimming in "swimmies" (diapers) at an apartment complex pool I used to often get ear and eye infections from using. Once I learned that's what those children were wearing in the pool I ceased all usage. Never had those problems before or after that particular rental.

Re: Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

#16

Post by kbos87 »

I worked at a pool as a lifeguard instructor throughout high school and college. The aquatics director used to try to explain this to people who would blame her for misbalanced chemicals when there was a strong chlorine smell. It would always get so much worse as soon as the pool got busy, like during a swim class or children’s swim lessons. Getting people to shower before entering the pool was a hopeless plight.

Re: Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

#18

Post by lbruder »

peterburkimsher wrote: post #13

Are there companies doing wastewater monitoring on pools for public health? All kinds of disgusting things get flushed down toilets in homes and businesses. I think that monitoring a swimming pool would give more helpful data, because the bacteria/viruses/pollutants were all carried by humans.

Working for a water treatment company here. We have created a mathematical model for public pools that includes a projected number of visitors per weekday, the weather forecast, school holidays, and based on that, a daily influx of urine, feces, pus and so on. We use this model to create adaptive controllers that minimize the amount of chemicals used to keep the water safe while actually keeping it safe (work in progress).

Working for this company taught me stuff I really didn't want to know about...

Re: Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

#19

Post by wyattpeak »

tomclive wrote: post #6

The headline is a bit clickbaity. The third paragraph starts with "In fact, chlorine is still a culprit." A more accurate title could be "Urine and Chlorine Cause Red Eyes in Pools."

I think it's more accurate as it is. Your alternative suggests to me that both contribute independently i.e. chlorine alone will burn eyes, where the article suggests that isn't true.

Since chlorine in pools is ubiquitous, the urine's the central issue. C.f. hydrogen tanks being labelled "fire hazard", not "fire hazard in an oxygen environment".

Re: Urine, Not Chlorine, Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

#20

Post by ganonm »

The chlorinates created when the chlorine reacts with e.g. sweat and urine is what causes red eyes and breathing difficulties. From my experience, stay away from hotel/health club pools. These usually have saunas and jacuzzis which means people jump into the pool afterwards and contaminate it a lot... If you are doing swimming for fitness you will be inhaling a much larger volume of air, plus you will be inhaling air near the surface of the water where the chlorinates are most concentrated. Stick to public leisure centres where the pools are designated for fitness swimming. The people using these pools are generally a lot more conscientious about showering before entering the pool.
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