Swimming in sea ‘increases risk’ of earache and diarrhoea

SWIMMING in the sea raises the risk of earache because of polluted water, researchers have warned.

The University of Exeter Medical School in the UK found that people who swim or take part in water sports are far more likely to experience a host of ailments.

Sea bathing doubled the odds of reporting general ear ailments, and the odds of reporting earache rose by 77pc. For gastrointestinal illnesses, the odds increased by 29pc.

Researchers said despite investment resulting in an improvement in water quality in recent years, seawater is still polluted from sources including industrial waste, sewage and farmland run-off.

Dr Anne Leonard, of the University of Exeter, said: “In high-income countries like the UK, there is a perception there is little risk to health of spending time in the sea.

“However, our paper shows that spending time in the sea does increase the probability of developing illnesses, such as ear ailments and problems involving the digestive system, such as stomach ache and diarrhoea. We think this indicates that pollution is still an issue affecting swimmers in some of the world’s richest countries.”

The researchers reviewed 19 studies involving 120,000 people since 1961, from the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Norway. They found that sea bathers were 86pc more likely to suffer from any illness, compared with non bathers.

The research is the first to evaluate the evidence bathers are at risk of getting sick from exposure to seawater.