Recreational water illnesses, how to prevent?

Swimming is a complex of pleasures and has many health benefits. The age and gender do not matter to enjoy your time in the water. However, it poses a minor chance of getting sick from swimming in contaminated or unclean water. Recreational water illness (RWI) are some of the infections you might get which can have heavy health effects. This article takes a look at them so you can have safe swimming.

What are the symptoms of recreational water illnesses?

There are no fixed symptoms related to recreational water illnesses. They vary by the root cause of the disease-causing organism. The most common symptom is diarrhea but there are other ones as well.

Diarrhea

When you drink contaminated water or unclean water during swimming, you might get diarrhea. The symptoms of diarrhea are as follows;

• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Fever
• Unusual cramps or pain

The risk is that diarrhea can lead to dehydration and other health conditions. It is particularly true with young children.

You would better visit a doctor or healthcare in the below cases:

• Your condition is not getting better after two days.
• The signs of dehydration are developed.
• Abdominal or rectal pain is developed.
• Bloody or black stools have appeared.
• Your fever is above 102 F (39 C)

Visit a health specialist right away if you suffer from the above signs and symptoms. The above symptoms are true for children somehow. So you should be extra careful with them.

Bear in mind that there are other causes of diarrhea. You need to find out it’s the root cause:

• Viruses
• Bacteria and parasites
• Medications
• Lactose intolerance
• Fructose
• Artificial sweeteners
• Surgery
• digestive disorders

Flu-like symptoms

The symptoms you have with the flu are common with recreational water illnesses.

According to CDC, below are the related symptoms of the flu;

• headaches
• muscle or body aches
• runny or stuffy nose
• sore throat
• cough
• fever
• fatigue

Bear in mind that vomiting and diarrhea are also some of the flu-like symptoms.

some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

The signs of flu will start to recover in a few days. However, some people might develop complications. This is the stage where things get risky. Pneumonia is one of them. If not treated in time, some of these complications can become life-threatening.

The below complications are the dangerous ones you need to be aware of:

• inflammation of the heart, brain, muscle tissues
• multi-organ failure

There are some people who are prone to greater risk due to the flu. They need to be extra cheerful with the flu and its symptoms:

• people 65 years and older
• Individuals suffering from certain chronic medical conditions
•  pregnant people
• children younger than 5 years

When to see a doctor?

In case the symptoms of the fly got worse and changed to the below ones, you need to visit a doctor. As explained above, the flu symptoms disappear in a few days. It’s dangerous when they develop into complications.

• Serious muscle pain or weakness
• Chest pain
• Constant dizziness
• Seizures

Do you take your kid swimming regularly? If yes, you would better be familiar with the emergency symptoms related to the flu in children;

• Difficulty breathing, Blue lips
• Chest pain
• Dehydration
• Serious muscle pain
• Seizures

Rash

It is the unusual changes in skin color and texture. The cause is different but also a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It grows in warm water and can cause various symptoms:  raised, red, and itchy rash.

The difference between rash and Eczema is that the latter term is used as a general term for various skin conditions.

Some of the symptoms you can develop are as follows:

• Itchiness
• Skin redness
• Dry, scaly, or crusted skin
• Formation of small, fluid-filled blisters

When should you see a doctor for a rash?

Most of the rashes are not life-threatening and will get covered after days of care. But you need to be extra careful when the below signs appear. Children and the elderly need to be careful as they go swimming, recreational water illnesses are possible.

• The rash spreads all over the body.
• It comes with the flu.
• The sudden spread of the rash over the body.
• The rash begins to blister.
• Your rash is painful and infected.

Ear pain

It can happen to everyone but is more common in children. The point is that it can not be spread from one person to another.

Bear in mind that ear pain or ear infection is not the same as a middle ear infection. The latter one is common with the children but they are different.

The common signs and symptoms are as follows:

• Pain when the outer ear is tugged
• Redness and swelling in the ear
• Drainage from the ear
• Itchiness inside the ear

How can you prevent ear pain due to swimming?

Ear pain after swimming can be prevented easily. You just need to take precautionary measures. Follows the below stages and you can stop it to a large extent:

• Keep ears as dry as possible.
• Dry your ears after swimming
• Don’t put objects in the ear canal
• Use earplugs or a swim cap

In most cases, you can treat the ear pain with home treatments. If water has entered the ear and it has not reached the infection level, the below simple treatments can be helpful:

• Jiggle your earlobe to get water out
• Lie on your side for a few minutes
• Use a blow dryer
• Try alcohol and vinegar eardrops
• Try olive oil or more water

When to see a doctor?

The water trapped in your ears are likely to move away after 2-3 days. If not, you can try the introduced home remedies in the above section. You would better try to remove the water on the first day to prevent infection. If not, and after 3-4 days it started to bother and transform into an infection, you would better visit a health expert or your doctor.

Bear in mind that hearing loss is possible if the pain doesn’t get treated. In some cases, cartilage and bone damage are also likely. So you would better get it treated as soon as possible.

How to prevent recreational water illnesses?

There is always the chance of getting RWIs and you would better create a prevention system. Although some of the RWIs are easier to prevent than other ones.

Depending on your region and conditions, you might have to use vaccines to prevent RWIs. it is true with cholera for instance if it’s common in that area but not likely in the US.

• Practice good hygiene
• Take a shower with soap after swimming
• Check chlorine levels are appropriate
• Do not go swimming when suffering from diarrhea
• Make sure children take shower regularly after using recreational water facilities
• Try to prevent drinking water from the pool or lake
• Use earplugs

The above safety measures are true when visiting a beach or lake. Taking a shower after coming from the beach is of great importance. Try to stick with it as the salt water can affect your skin.

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Let’s sum up…

Not only drinking contaminated or unhealthy water causes health problems. Entering water into your ears, and eyes are also risky and your skin can develop complications.

Tahoe Springs Water cares about your health and safety and provides the best quality of water in Las Vegas. This page’s information is to ensure that you remain safe while swimming in hot summers.

You need to know the mentioned signs and symptoms and be aware of when to see a doctor.

Your health and safety are important to Tahoe Springs Water. We have provided the best alkaline, spring mountain, and purified water since 1994 in Las Vegas.

Give us a call at (725) +702-903-1433 to order your water and get more information. You can order your water option through the menu of the website as well.