US Heathy Swimming Program Says Pool Red-Eye Is Due To Urine, Not Chlorine

As summer begins in the United States in July, many Americans would surely troop to swimming pools and beaches to beat the rising temperature, exacerbated by global warming. Anticipating ailments caused by immersing in public waters, the US Healthy Swimming Program warned of expected cases of swimming pool red-eye.

The program debunks belief that the disease is caused by the chlorine used to disinfect the swimming pool, but by urine, reports CNET. Specifically, red-eye results from the combination of chlorine and urine, stated the report released in May by the National Swimming Pool Foundation

“When nitrogen-containing compounds found in pee, sweat and dirt combine with chlorine, irritants are formed. These substances, not the chlorine itself, irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory system,” explained the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, quotes the foundation.

Swimming pool red-eye is not the only recreational water illnesses that had increased dramatically in the last decade. Two others are diaorrhea and vomiting that are due to swimming pool bugs, specifically the parasite cryptosporidium, according to the CDC, which estimates 20,000 US residents end up frequently using the toilet yearly during summer due to the pool bugs.

These alarming results were based on CDC documentation of 90 illness outbreaks in 32 states and Puerto Rico in 2011 and 2012. The outbreaks affected almost 1,800 people, of which 95 were hospitalised, reports Metro.

Despite heavy chlorination, cryptosporidium could survive for 10 days or more. That parasite comes from swimmers who have diaorrhea, CBS News quotes Michele Hlavsa, the report’s lead author. She stresses that the parasite is extremely resistant to chlorine.

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