Healthy and Safe Swimming Week Reminds Residents to Share the Fun, Not the Germs

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is encouraging residents to maximize the health benefits of swimming with healthy and safe habits. As part of these efforts, MDHHS is recognizing May 18–24 as Healthy and Safe Swimming Week.

While chlorine and other disinfectants kill many germs within minutes, some germs can survive for days, even in appropriately treated water. For that reason, it’s important to keep germs, pee, poop, sweat and dirt out of the water we share and swim in. In addition to making us sick, they can combine with the chlorine and form chemicals that can make our eyes red and trigger asthma attacks. In the past ten years, more than 80 individuals have reported pool-related chemical illness while swimming.

Everyone plays a role in preventing pool-related illnesses caused by germs in the water we share and swim in. It is also important to prevent pool-related injuries, such as drowning or those caused by mishandling pool chemicals. Here’s what you can do to keep your family safe and healthy this swimming season:

• Keep germs out of the water:
  • Stay out of the water if you have diarrhea.
  • Shower before you get in the water.
  • Don’t pee or poop in the water and take your children on hourly bathroom breaks to keep them from doing the same: Every hour—everyone out!
• Keep swimmers safe in the water:
  • Make sure everyone knows how to swim.
  • Use life jackets appropriately.
  • Provide continuous, attentive supervision close to swimmers.
  • Know CPR.
• Use chemicals safely in your pools:
• Read and follow directions on product labels.
• Open chemical containers safely, using proper protective equipment, in a well ventilated area.
• NEVER mix different pool chemicals with each other, especially chlorine products with acid. Add pool chemical to water, NEVER water to pool chemical.
• Store pool chemicals securely.

For more information and safety tips about preventing swimming illness and injury, visit www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming and www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Water-Safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html.

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