Outdoor swimming pools...safe?

A

anonymous

New member
Hey all,

I am considering joining a country club (a fancy one, it's not!) swimming pool this coming summer, mainly for my children. My daughter is 8 w/o CF and my rascally, little monkey son, Ryan, is 5 w/CF. The Monkey's been very healthy to this point in his life, and only had one hospital visit to date (to blast out all the impacted "snot" out of his sinuses). He's a pretty resilient little dude.....

Does anyone have an opinion on a swimming pool? We live in Michigan and it will only be open Memorial Day thru Labor Day. I have to assume they keep up to regulated standards of cleanliness. I'll help them buy extra chemicals, if need be.

My thought is that I would rather keep him active, doing almost anything outdoors, as opposed to allowing him to stay indoors, watching video's or SpongeBob Squarepants or something to that end. I really want him active, but I am also very nervous. As parents, my wife and I have always been "nervous nellies".

At the end of the day, I am going to ask my Doc what she thinks, and I'll probably go with her advice, but I'd love to hear some board opinions.

Anybody care to share theirs? Thanks!

Dan
 
A

anonymous

New member
Hey all,

I am considering joining a country club (a fancy one, it's not!) swimming pool this coming summer, mainly for my children. My daughter is 8 w/o CF and my rascally, little monkey son, Ryan, is 5 w/CF. The Monkey's been very healthy to this point in his life, and only had one hospital visit to date (to blast out all the impacted "snot" out of his sinuses). He's a pretty resilient little dude.....

Does anyone have an opinion on a swimming pool? We live in Michigan and it will only be open Memorial Day thru Labor Day. I have to assume they keep up to regulated standards of cleanliness. I'll help them buy extra chemicals, if need be.

My thought is that I would rather keep him active, doing almost anything outdoors, as opposed to allowing him to stay indoors, watching video's or SpongeBob Squarepants or something to that end. I really want him active, but I am also very nervous. As parents, my wife and I have always been "nervous nellies".

At the end of the day, I am going to ask my Doc what she thinks, and I'll probably go with her advice, but I'd love to hear some board opinions.

Anybody care to share theirs? Thanks!

Dan
 
A

anonymous

New member
Ask your doc.
The main concern would be pseudomonas.
We "think" my husband caught his at the highly heated swimming pool at his inpatient rehab (the staff had skin rashes), but, of course, we'll never know.
I know most docs discourage the use of hot tubs.
 
A

anonymous

New member
Ask your doc.
The main concern would be pseudomonas.
We "think" my husband caught his at the highly heated swimming pool at his inpatient rehab (the staff had skin rashes), but, of course, we'll never know.
I know most docs discourage the use of hot tubs.
 
W

wuffles

New member
To put it bluntly.. yes, swimming pools (and change rooms) can be a breeding ground for germs.

But to put it into perspective.. I went swimming all the time when I was young. I had swimming lessons, we did swimming in school, I trained with the school swim team, I went to public pools on school holidays, went to waterparks. Very rarely did I get sick from these visits but I ALWAYS had a great time. I am glad that my parents let me swim, even if I occasionally caught a bug, because I had so much fun and didn't have to feel too "different" from the other kids. In fact, I caught way more colds and infections from walking through shopping centres or simply attending school. I say go for it!
 
W

wuffles

New member
To put it bluntly.. yes, swimming pools (and change rooms) can be a breeding ground for germs.

But to put it into perspective.. I went swimming all the time when I was young. I had swimming lessons, we did swimming in school, I trained with the school swim team, I went to public pools on school holidays, went to waterparks. Very rarely did I get sick from these visits but I ALWAYS had a great time. I am glad that my parents let me swim, even if I occasionally caught a bug, because I had so much fun and didn't have to feel too "different" from the other kids. In fact, I caught way more colds and infections from walking through shopping centres or simply attending school. I say go for it!
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
I also think that indoor versus outdoor makes a big difference. Most hot tubs & many pools are indoors causing an even bigger breeding ground. Of course like anything the more people that use it, the more chance of problems. This will always be a disputed topic. I grew up swimming anywhere, anytime. Pools, lakes, rivers, brooks.....wherever I could find water.
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
I also think that indoor versus outdoor makes a big difference. Most hot tubs & many pools are indoors causing an even bigger breeding ground. Of course like anything the more people that use it, the more chance of problems. This will always be a disputed topic. I grew up swimming anywhere, anytime. Pools, lakes, rivers, brooks.....wherever I could find water.
 
A

anonymous

New member
Thanks Wuffles! Good point when you say "ALWAYS" had a good time. We like to be cautious...sometimes overly cautious, but he has to live a little. Heck, live a lot.....

To be sure, we would never let him go to an indoor pool, or even worse, a hot tub of any kind.

Thanks for your post!

Dan
 
A

anonymous

New member
Thanks Wuffles! Good point when you say "ALWAYS" had a good time. We like to be cautious...sometimes overly cautious, but he has to live a little. Heck, live a lot.....

To be sure, we would never let him go to an indoor pool, or even worse, a hot tub of any kind.

Thanks for your post!

Dan
 
A

anonymous

New member
Everything has some level of risk, including the obvious - swimming pools, locker rooms, as well as your kitchen, under your childs bed, etc. You can't possibly kill every germ your child could possibly come in contact with, even in your home.

That being said, I would encourage you to look at the positives of outdoor swimming pools - they are lower risk than indoor pools, and provide an excellent source of exercise, which will benefit your child.

Personally, I took swimming lessons, worked as a lifegaurd, and taught lessons - at 25, I have cultured psuedomonas on-and-off for a very long time, and seriously doubt I could pinpoint the time or place responsible for it.

Don't think that keeping your child out of pools will reduce his/her risk of growing psuedomonas, because really, it won't. If this happens, don't blame your child or yourself, because the likelihood that they will grow it at some point is very high (something like 70-80% of CFers culture it), and it grows everywhere. Let your child enjoy all the activities of kids his/her age. They will thank you for it.

Chris (cdale613 not signed in)

25 w/CF
 
A

anonymous

New member
Everything has some level of risk, including the obvious - swimming pools, locker rooms, as well as your kitchen, under your childs bed, etc. You can't possibly kill every germ your child could possibly come in contact with, even in your home.

That being said, I would encourage you to look at the positives of outdoor swimming pools - they are lower risk than indoor pools, and provide an excellent source of exercise, which will benefit your child.

Personally, I took swimming lessons, worked as a lifegaurd, and taught lessons - at 25, I have cultured psuedomonas on-and-off for a very long time, and seriously doubt I could pinpoint the time or place responsible for it.

Don't think that keeping your child out of pools will reduce his/her risk of growing psuedomonas, because really, it won't. If this happens, don't blame your child or yourself, because the likelihood that they will grow it at some point is very high (something like 70-80% of CFers culture it), and it grows everywhere. Let your child enjoy all the activities of kids his/her age. They will thank you for it.

Chris (cdale613 not signed in)

25 w/CF
 
A

anonymous

New member
We were told swimming pools were fine 'cuz they weren't as warm and wouldn't grow as much nasty stuff. Hot tubs were bad. Recently there was an article in our local paper that said regular water had something like 100 (small amount) of bateria in it, while hot tubs had MILLIONS including fecal, staph, mold.... Apparently stuff grows in the pipes and then when the aerators are turned on, that stuff gets mixed into the water, gets into the air. Bleah!

We had a hot tub before DS was born and when he was diagnosed got rid of it. We kept an eye on chemical levels, etc. but if we didn't use it for a few weeks, that water would get stagnant, stuff would grow on the top inside of the hot tub cover. And don't get me started about when we'd let other people sit in there -- grubby kids, think my nephew peed in it -- sometimes after a long weekend there'd be a nasty oil slick on top.

Liza
 
A

anonymous

New member
We were told swimming pools were fine 'cuz they weren't as warm and wouldn't grow as much nasty stuff. Hot tubs were bad. Recently there was an article in our local paper that said regular water had something like 100 (small amount) of bateria in it, while hot tubs had MILLIONS including fecal, staph, mold.... Apparently stuff grows in the pipes and then when the aerators are turned on, that stuff gets mixed into the water, gets into the air. Bleah!

We had a hot tub before DS was born and when he was diagnosed got rid of it. We kept an eye on chemical levels, etc. but if we didn't use it for a few weeks, that water would get stagnant, stuff would grow on the top inside of the hot tub cover. And don't get me started about when we'd let other people sit in there -- grubby kids, think my nephew peed in it -- sometimes after a long weekend there'd be a nasty oil slick on top.

Liza
 
A

anonymous

New member
Article from Sunday's paper. Liza

A teaspoon of typical tap water has about 138 bacteria. A teaspoon of typical hot tub water has about 2.17 million. That?s only one of the unsettling findings by a team of Texas A&M researchers.

Of the 43 public and private tubs tested, a scary 95 percent showed the presence of (squeamish reader alert) fecal bacteria; 81 percent had fungi; and 34 percent contained staphylococcus, which can cause deadly infections. The researchers said the lining of whirlpool pipes was where the nastiest stuff grew. When the jets are turned on, the bacteria and fungi are blown into the tub. A typical cleaning provided little protection.

-The Washington Post
 
A

anonymous

New member
Article from Sunday's paper. Liza

A teaspoon of typical tap water has about 138 bacteria. A teaspoon of typical hot tub water has about 2.17 million. That?s only one of the unsettling findings by a team of Texas A&M researchers.

Of the 43 public and private tubs tested, a scary 95 percent showed the presence of (squeamish reader alert) fecal bacteria; 81 percent had fungi; and 34 percent contained staphylococcus, which can cause deadly infections. The researchers said the lining of whirlpool pipes was where the nastiest stuff grew. When the jets are turned on, the bacteria and fungi are blown into the tub. A typical cleaning provided little protection.

-The Washington Post
 
A

anonymous

New member
Our CF doctor laughed when I told him that people on this forum said CFers should not swim in heated pools or hot tubs!! He said you can get pseudomonas anywhere and asked if we were planning on locking our daughter up the rest of her life? He said will have to if we want to avoid pseudomonas, so the best thing to do is live life normally and just be aware!

Lynsey-
Mom to Avery 2 yrs. w/CF and Rhett 1 yr. no CF
 
A

anonymous

New member
Our CF doctor laughed when I told him that people on this forum said CFers should not swim in heated pools or hot tubs!! He said you can get pseudomonas anywhere and asked if we were planning on locking our daughter up the rest of her life? He said will have to if we want to avoid pseudomonas, so the best thing to do is live life normally and just be aware!

Lynsey-
Mom to Avery 2 yrs. w/CF and Rhett 1 yr. no CF
 
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