As many of you are out are probably out in the sun, enjoying the weather this Memorial Day weekend, you might be anticipating taking a dip in your neighborhood pool. That’s great, but just try not to pee in it. I know, I know, most of us — if we are honest — would admit that we’ve had the occasion to relieve ourselves of a little chis in a swimming pool once or twice in our lives. I mean, what’s the harm, right? What fellow swimmers don’t know won’t hurt them, correct? That’s not what the CDC says:

When swimmers sweat or urinate in the pool water, the bodily fluids combine with the chlorine. It creates chloramines, which causes the strange odor and the eye and respiratory irritations for swimmers, according to the CDC.

No matter how discreet the act may be, “you’re contaminating the pool. Let’s face it,” said Linda Golodner, the vice chairwoman of the Water Quality and Health Council.

The survey released by Golodner’s group, which advises the American Chemistry Council, found that 11 percent of the surveyed adults said they have swum with a runny nose, 7 percent with an exposed rash or cut and 1 percent when ill with diarrhea. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

But if you think pee in your pool is bad enough, think again. When it comes to people very getting sick from swimming, the real culprit is that last thing they mentioned: diarrhea. Yes, diarrhea in the pool.

The most common recreational water illness is spread through diarrhea. One of the most persistent problems is Cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes diarrhea and can be found in infected stools.

“With Crypto, if you have diarrhea, it’s very watery,” Hlavsa said. “It’s not a formed stool sitting in the pool or floating on top. It could be very watery, and no one [in a pool] would know.”

So this Memorial Day weekend, eat, drink, be merry and swim! But don’t count on me joining you.

Via / CNN

Image via t_a_i_s on Flickr