Keep cryptosporidium at bay
If you are heading to the swimming pool, or a water park, stay healthy by keeping cryptosporidium at bay.
Cryptosporidium (crypto) infections are caused by microscopic parasites that are spread through drinking water, or recreational water, such as swimming pools and hot tubs, and can cause intestinal distress including diarrhea.
Cryptosporidium parasites, which live in the intestines of humans or animals, are shed in stool. Cryptosporidium is highly contagious, but there are ways protect yourself and family from becoming ill.
“Avoiding activities where you might accidentally swallow some of the water in the swimming pool would be one of the best ways to prevent getting infected,” says Mayo Clinic pediatric infectious diseases specialist Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse. “The important thing also to know about how this infection is transmitted or spread from person to person is that you can actually pass the cryptosporidium parasite in your stool even once your diarrhea has gone away. We have detected it in stool up to two weeks after diarrhea has gotten better.”
Review these tips to prevent the spread of cryptosporidium.
•Don’t swim or let your kids swim if sick with diarrhea. If diarrhea is caused by crypto, wait until two weeks after diarrhea has stopped to go swimming.
•Don’t swallow the water in which you swim.
•Rinse off in the shower before and after getting in the water to help remove any germs on your body that could contaminate the water.
•Take kids on bathroom breaks often, and check diapers in a diaper-changing area — not next to the pool.
•Wash your hands well after using the bathroom and changing diapers.
Cryptosporidium and Chlorine
Cryptosporidium parasites are one of the more common causes of infectious diarrhea in humans, because they are not easily killed by chlorine and can survive up to 10 days in properly treated water.
Symptoms of cryptosporidium include:
•Watery diarrhea
•Dehydration
•Lack of appetite
•Weight loss
•Stomach cramps or pain
•Fever
•Nausea