Durham, N.C. – Durham County health officials are reminding swimmers to follow a few safety tips to prevent getting sick this summer.  Officials’ safety message comes as we prepare for national Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week, celebrated from May 24-30.   

 “Summer is a fantastic time to lounge by the pool but a few basic precautions may just prevent you from becoming sick,” said Gayle Harris, County health director. “Infectious agents from animals or on swimmers’ bodies can end up in the water and make other people sick. It is important to adopt health swimming behaviors to prevent illnesses associated with recreational swimming venues.”

Harris offers seven key steps to avoid water-borne illnesses this summer.  

1. Do not swim or allow children to swim if you or they have diarrhea.
2. Do not swallow pool/river/ocean water or get it in your mouth.
3. Everyone should shower before swimming.
4. Wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers.
5. Children should wear tight-fitting swim diapers, and diapers should be checked before entering the water.
6. Take children on bathroom breaks.
7. Change children’s diapers often and in a bathroom, not at the poolside.

Following simple health guidelines like good hygiene and avoiding getting water in one’s mouth can help protect swimmers from a variety of infectious illnesses, and if one does become ill, ensure that they get prompt medical attention.

Although healthy swimmers can get sick from recreational water illnesses, or RWIs, the young and elderly, and persons with a weakened immune system, as well as pregnant women and diabetics, are especially at risk.

State and local health officials have investigated numerous cases of RWI caused by Cryptosporidium, a chlorine-resistant parasite primarily associated with treated recreational water venues such as pools and water parks. It also can be found in natural bodies of water, soil, food or on surfaces that have been contaminated with infected human or animal feces.

Although cryptosporidiosis usually causes only mild gastroenteritis in healthy persons, it may cause serious illness in those with compromised immune systems. This parasite is able to survive and remain infectious for long periods of time, even in chlorinated pools.

Water contamination by sewage or storm water runoff also can cause problems. People also have an increased risk of becoming sick from swimming in natural waters in both coastal and inland areas, especially in areas downstream from sewage treatment facilities and in all areas after storm events. Storm events are associated with increased runoff from cities as well as forests, farms and pasture lands, which can be sources of Cryptosporidium, fecal bacteria and viruses known to cause human illness.

For more information about Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week and healthy swimming, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at: www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming. For North Carolina specific information, visit www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/ehs/pti_healthyswimming.htm, or contact the N.C. Division of Environmental Health at (919-733-2884.