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

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

#91

Post by sehugg »

deepGem wrote: post #51
sizzzzlerz wrote: post #12

I've always wanted a product that you could add to the swimming pool water that reacts to human urine by coloring the water immediately surrounding the pee-er. Say a neon orange or red. Over time, the colored water gets diluted and disappears. Maybe pee-shaming is what's required to stop people from doing it.

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.

If you've ever been to a resort with a wet bar, you might see people drinking for several hours without getting out of the pool. One can draw conclusions.

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

#92

Post by StrictDabbler »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #33
ravenstine wrote: post #2

Why do pools still use chlorine? Is it just because it's really cheap? I've seen non-chlorine pool treatments advertised in the past but haven't been to a single pool in 20+ years that wasn't chlorinated. http://www.baquacil.com/ EDIT: Also, ewww.

The favorite pool I have ever been in had bromine instead of chlorine. The water was so silky and velvety and didn't sting at all. Totally different experience. It was in Hot Springs, Arkansas and the specific chemistry of the water there made it where they couldn't use chlorination due to interactions with the unique water there. I wish all pools were brominated. It was in the neat pool on the side of a hill here- h…

They also brominate the water on all the Disney water rides, which is why Pirates of the Caribbean has such a distinct smell.

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

#93

Post by tastyfreeze »

illumin8 wrote: post #71
martin-adams wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While nice in theory, it'll be bad for business for public swimming pools. Think of how many young kids are in the pool (under 3 years of age). Whether you like it or not, there's pee in the pool.

Most pools require toddlers and infants to wear special swim diapers that provide some type of barrier to prevent pee (and worse) from getting in the water. Not that they're foolproof, but if you are swimming in a pool that doesn't require this, I would get out. There are some really nasty diseases that come from human waste that I would not want to come in contact with.

Swim diapers do very little to keep pee or dissolved feces in them. They are there to keep turds from floating away long enough for a parent to take care of it.

Also, how many dirty assholes are getting cleaned by the pool water? That dude that was just grunting in the stall of the locker room likely didn't wash his ass before jumping in.

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

#94

Post by Kenji »

This is bullshit. I get red eyes and inflammation from swimming in the chlorinated pool in our backyard if I keep my eyes open under water, and I know for a fact that nobody pees in there, unless evil goblins sneak into our backyard to relieve themselves.

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

#95

Post by olyjohn »

illumin8 wrote: post #73
sbov wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes kids even poop in the pool. Happened at a pool we went to last week.

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.

I got a staff infection from the pool at our apartment when I was in middle school. Looking back, that apartment complex was a real dump.

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

#96

Post by supermw »

djsumdog wrote: post #72
trentlott wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I vaguely remember this being a plot point in an episode of 'The Adventures of Pete and Pete'†. I'm sure there are plenty of chemists that have valiantly attempted to find something that could both stay stable in UV-blasted chlorinated water and react with a weak acid to give an absorption in the visible wavelength. . .but that is a very long and hard-to-fulfill wishlist. Anyway, it's just any sort of amine reacting…

I immediately though of that Pete and Pete episode too! I would imagine it would be difficult or impossible to find a chemical that would react with urine, but not sweat or other stuff coming off your body, that would be safe to swim in.

Maybe there's a machine learning solution. If we could have devices that could somehow probe the temperature of the water on an X,Y graph and detect when the ambient temperature around an individual has changed we can sound an alarm to detect possible urination or even a laser that can draw a circle around the targeted area.

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

#98

Post by tapanjk »

> The only solution is to pee in the pool, then at least you think it's your own.........

This caught my eye in the comments at the bottom of the article. It answers the question that we all asked (sometimes of ourselves): Why would anyone pee in the pool?

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

#99

Post by hyperbovine »

nabla9 wrote: post #49
teekert wrote: post #9

"Approximately 58 per cent of Canadians admitted to peeing in the pool at least once in a recent survey of 9,500 people conducted by Travelocity." Never looking a Canadians the same ever again.

Finland had a serial pooper scare last year. Serial pooper takes fourth dump in Oulu's Raksila swimming hall pool https://metropolitan.fi/entry/serial-pooper-takes-fourth-dum...

A shall-remain-nameless friend worked summers as a lifeguard at the local YMCA as a teenager. Lifeguarding is a stressful, hot, long, low-paying job. Enthusiasm can wane, especially at the end of summer. As a favor to her fellow co-workers, said friend went ahead and shat the pool on her last day, mandating a 24-hr public health closure of the facility, and thus gifting everyone a free day off.

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

#100

Post by eloff »

keypusher wrote: post #47

Chlorine reacts with pretty much any organic compound (hair, sweat, skin, urine) to produce chloramine. And yes, while this is the thing that irritates your eyes, it's not to say that chlorine is harmless either. There is evidence for respiratory and organ damage from extended exposure to chlorinated pools. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4351252/

So safer to use outdoor pools if that's an option.
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