CDC: Urine, Not Chlorine, Makes Your Eyes Burn In The Pool
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ATLANTA (CBSDFW.COM) - Just in time for swimming season in north Texas. A health revelation about swimming pool water has some people saying... yuck!
Take a deep breath, here's how it breaks down. You know how some people's eyes turn red and start to burn after a day at the pool? It turns out... the symptoms aren't from chlorine alone. The negative physical impacts are actually from the chemical mixing with urine!
This isn't a variation of an old wives' tale, the information comes from the Centers for Disease Control and was included in a handout about pool cleanliness.
And the news gets worse. The handout also credits feces and other bodily germs in swimming pools for causing some summer sicknesses.
Okay, let's focus on the positive. What can you do? Officials with the health institute say a really strong chlorine smell is a warning sign. The stronger the smell -- the more germs in the pool. The olfactory reaction is triggered because the chemicals are working harder to clean the nastiness in the water.
So now that you know what to look for, the CDC says go ahead, jump in! In addition to 'smelling' for the warning signs, they say hourly breaks can also help ward off summer germs.
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