Did it just rain? Be careful where you swim.
We spoke with Montserrat Sanmartí, a doctor at the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital health park, about infections that can be contracted in water.
BarcelonaSome prefer to swim in the pool, others in the sea, but whether you're a freshwater or saltwater swimmer, keep in mind that you run an invisible risk: infections from pathogens that live in the water. In the case of seawater, beach flags are a good ally to also check the health of the water. "Sometimes there's a red flag, and people see that the water is flat, clear, and jellyfish-free, and they ignore the warning. In these cases, it's probably due to the state of the water," says the doctor at the Sant Joan de Déu Montserrat Sanmartí Hospital health park.
One of the factors that can increase the risk of contracting diseases due to ingesting unsafe water is the discharge of harmful products into the sea, as well as the discharge that occurs in the days following heavy rains at river mouths. "After it rains, the river flow increases and this causes the water to carry components that end up in the sea and that could have been in poor condition for some time," says Sanmartí, who emphasizes the need to pay special attention to the beaches at the river mouths.
A very different paradigm is that of swimming pools, where the water is more stagnant – despite the circulation and purification that they are expected to have – and there may be a greater concentration of people. That is why the risks are also different. "Beyond whatE. coli, which is also found on beaches, a common non-intestinal infection in swimming pools is otitis," says Sanmartí, who emphasizes that chlorine is not efficient in eliminating all pathogens.
That is why the emergence of a challenge is a very alarming case defecating in a municipal swimming pool"That's fatal, and it should mean closing the pool for a few days," she asserts. However, Sanmartí points out that it's "relatively common to live with these pathogens" in confined waters like pools. In fact, she points out that intestinal infections are "underdiagnosed." "We often don't associate symptoms like diarrhea or vomiting with the pool or the ocean because we're unaware of the risk of infection in these spaces," the doctor adds. That's why the doctor from San Juan de Dios advises that when we're in the midst of a gastrointestinal process, it's advisable not to go to the pool or ocean until a few days after the infection has passed.