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Is playing in the pool a special ritual for you and your family on weekends? If so, you should be more careful in watching the child who is swimming. The reason is, there are various infections and diseases that lurk in the swimming pool. Then what can be done to prevent children from getting infected with bacteria in the swimming pool?

Swimming in the pool can make children infected

You have to be more aware of the transmission of several infectious diseases because it will be very easy for your little one to attack in the swimming pool. The following are various diseases in the pool that can strike your little one when he is playing water.

• Diarrhea. Diarrhea is very easily transmitted through water contamination due to the presence of Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Salmonella, Shigella, Norovirus, and E.coli bacteria. These bacteria and germs can contaminate pool water if someone who is infected with this disease gets into the pool.
• Eye infections, can be caused by viruses which also cause diarrhea, sore throat, and flu.
• Hepatitis A. An infectious disease that attacks the liver can be transmitted through contamination of water.

Do not allow children to swim in diapers

If indeed your little one is still a toddler and uses diapers, then you should first remove your baby's diaper before swimming. Using diapers in the pool - especially dirty ones - will pollute the pool with poop.

Not to mention if your child has diarrhea, the diarrhea bacteria will be very easy to transmit through water. Therefore, if your little one is experiencing an infectious disease such as diarrhea, you should forbid swimming first, until his condition recovers.

Isn't there chlorine that kills bacteria and viruses?

Swimming pool water will usually be mixed with chlorine, a chemical that kills bacteria and germs. Yes, swimming pools that are open to the public usually mix a lot of chlorine in the pool water. However, this is not enough to make your little one avoid bacteria that cause infectious diseases. The reason is, chlorine takes at least an hour to kill and eliminate bacteria.

For example, when someone who has diarrhea gets into a swimming pool, the bacteria that come from his body cannot be killed directly by chlorine. So, if your little one enters the pool not long from that person, it is not impossible that he will be attacked by these bacteria. Even some types of bacteria take a longer time to get rid of chlorine, for example Cryptosporidium.

Then, how do you prevent children from getting infected with bacteria in the swimming pool?

There are several things you can do to prevent children from getting infected due to contamination of swimming pool water:

• Don't let your child swim when they have an infectious disease, such as diarrhea or hepatititis A.
• Don't let your little one swim when he has an open wound, as it will easily become infected.
• Rinse your little one's body before and after going to the pool.
• Remove the diaper while swimming.

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