A mouth full of Swimming Water can make you Sick

How many times have you gone swimming and swallowed water? Accidentally ingesting water contaminated with germs and bacteria can lead to Recreational water illnesses (RWIs), according to the Ocean County Health Department(OCHD).

Even pools and hot tubs that contain chlorine are at risk, warned Leslie Terjesen, Public Information Officer with the OCHD.

"There's certain germs that are very tolerant to chlorine and they weren't known to cause human disease until recently. Once germs get in the pool, it can take anywhere from minutes to days for chlorine to kill them," said Terjesen.

Some of the most common symptoms of recreational water illnesses include, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, loss of appetite, weight loss, or fever, according to Terjesen.

"You need to teach children, and anybody, that the pool or the lake is not their bathroom, that they can take the time to get out and use the bathroom," Terjesen said. She also suggested keeping pets away from the water. "A lot of people love it that their dogs that their dogs jump in the water with them, but dogs can carry germs to and they can spread germs also in the water."

Terjesen said Diarrheal illnesses are caused by germs such as Crypto (short for Cryptosporidium), Giardia, Shigella, norovirus and E. coli. 

"Swimming while ill can contaminate the water," cautioned Terjesen. She added young children, pregnant woman, and individuals with weakened immune systems need to be very careful swimming in a lake, which can have heavier bacteria counts.

Terjesen said some of the precautions people can take include showering before entering the water, avoid swallowing water, taking children for regular bathroom breaks, changing diapers away from a pool area to avoid spreading germs, and making sure home pools have proper chlorine levels and hot tubs and spas have proper disinfectant.