Skin virus from swimming pool

The virus might spread from one person to another if they share a towel or toys. Related Links. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.

You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. CDC is not responsible for Section compliance accessibility on other federal or private website. Cancel Continue. You can find more advice about common skin conditions on the NHS website. To view and download fact sheets written specifically for people who support or advise swimmers, head to our Health and Wellbeing pages. Or choose multi-stroke swim.

What you need to know about skin Skin is a protective barrier and it is important to maintain its integrity. Health Fact Sheets. Swimming with Health Conditions. Calorie Cruncher. Enter amount of time in minutes mins. Front Crawl slow. Front Crawl fast. While supervising your children and making sure they are safe may be at the front of your mind few people think that they are at risk of catching a waterborne illness in the swimming pool.

Swimming pool water is often heated and this means it is just the right temperature to provide certain bacteria with the perfect habitat. Viruses and other pathogens can also be present. RWIs can be spread by swallowing, breathing or having contact with, germs in the water. Even if a pool looks clean if it is not properly managed it can provide harmful bacteria with an ideal environment in which to flourish. Dermal infections such as rashes and ear ache — Most bacterial rashes are caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The majority of recreational waterborne illnesses can be linked to a lack of proper disinfectant, inadequate filtration and, or a lack of proper pool maintenance and cleaning practices. Although it is commonly accepted that swimming pools can cause certain illnesses it can be difficult to directly link an outbreak with pool water as the evidence is largely circumstantial.

Because some illnesses can take between days before symptoms present themselves they are not readily associated with the swimming pool. It is also quite difficult to isolate microbes in the water to identify them. Although you cannot eliminate every micro organism there are a number of ways you can reduce the risk of catching a RWI.

Firstly pool owners have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of their customers. This would include using adequate and effective disinfectant as well as having a proper, working filtration system.

Chlorine is the most widely used disinfectant as it can inactivate or control most pathogens and therefore using adequate disinfectant is one of the most important factors for preventing an outbreak.