Department of Health

Think Healthy & Swim Healthy & Be Healthy

The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial opening for many outdoor pools. The City of St. Louis Department of Health joins the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent (CDC) in cautioning everyone to be safe and healthy while having fun swimming and enjoying pool activities.

The CDC offers the following tips:

• Don’t swim or let your kids swim if they have diarrhea. Just one diarrheal incident in the water can release millions of diarrhea-causing germs like Crypto (short for Cryptosporidium), Giardia, Shigella, norovirus, and E. coli O157:H7. This can make other swimmers sick if they swallow a mouthful of contaminated water.

Most germs are killed within minutes by common pool disinfectants like chlorine or bromine, but Crypto is a germ that can survive in properly chlorinated water for more than 7 days. This is why Crypto is the leading cause of outbreaks linked to swimming in the United States.

• Don’t swallow the water.
• Take kids on bathroom breaks every hour.
• Check diapers, and change them in a bathroom or diaper-changing area—not poolside—to keep germs away from the pool.
• Shower before you get in the water. Rinsing off in the shower for just 1 minute helps get rid of any germs that might be on your body.

Remember: Think Healthy. Swim Healthy. Be Healthy! This summer and year round, let’s follow CDC’s Steps of Healthy Swimming to protect ourselves and our loved ones from illness and injury when swimming or playing in the water.