Confusion: Swimming pool and toilet
A recent survey has found that nearly one in five Americans has urinated in a swimming pool.
The nationwide survey was conducted on behalf of the Water Quality and Health Council and found that 17% of respondents confessed to pool-based urination. In addition 35% of those surveyed said they entered the pool without showering first.
In response to the damning findings, America’s Center (sic) for Disease Control has published a number of tips for healthy swimming. ‘Don’t swim when you have diarrhoea’ topped the CDC’s at times rather obvious list. Sadly the survey did not provide information on the percentage of Americans who had failed to follow that particular guideline.
Although statistics are not available on the prevalence of such unhygienic behaviour outside America, other countries will be concerned in light of recent health scares over Swine Flu, the norovirus, E. coli, Trench Foot and chlamydia.
In the UK a process has begun to improve pool cleanliness for competitive swimmers of all ages. British Swimming’s National Performance Director said ‘Hi! I’m Michael Scott! British Swimming believes that every swimmer should always uphold the highest standards of hygiene. It is never acceptable to urinate in a swimming pool, even if you are leading in the final length of a 1500m. Similarly there are absolutely no circumstances in which a Code Brown should be used as a race tactic.’
