Beware the vampire bugs lurking in your paddling pool
Like many parents, i’ve loved watching my young children thrill in the simple delight of splashing about in a paddling pool during this hot spell.
At least i did until a couple of weeks ago, when my five-year-old daughter Charlotte was bitten by a horsefly in our garden, then walked into our bedroom at 1am holding up her right hand and saying it hurt. A lot.
A few hours later, her breathing was shallow, her heart racing and she felt burning hot, but complained of being cold.
At 3am, she vomited and her wrist was red and inflamed. By 6am, she was so lethargic and floppy that we raced her to A&e — only to discover the bite had become dangerously infected.
She spent three days in hospital on intravenous antibiotics. Five weeks later, my daughter’s bite has become re-infected again.
For it turns out the sea of paddling pools up and down the Uk is providing ideal conditions for the bloodsucking insects — and others — to lay eggs, as their natural habitats of ponds and marshes dry up in the heatwave.
Here’s what you need to know about the dangers lurking in your paddling pool . . .
RISE OF HORSEFLIES
‘it is impossible to say if there are more horseflies this year but, as they are more active in hot weather, people are more likely to encounter them,’ says Dr thomas ings, a senior lecturer in zoology at Anglia Ruskin University.
‘Having a paddling pool may increase the chances of finding horseflies in your garden, because they are attracted to open water. the females lay their eggs on plants next to water.
‘the females are attracted to large, warm, dark objects such as people, as they resemble the livestock on which they usually feed. Only females bite, as they need a blood meal to produce eggs.
‘the bites are painful because they slice open the skin and lap up blood without releasing a mild anaesthetic like mosquitoes. the bites can cause an allergic reaction and become infected.’ the other possible side-effects are swelling, dizziness, shortness of breath and a painful, itchy rash.
MOSQUITO MENACE
MOSqUitO larvae can spawn in standing water — even in a watering can.
And it takes just over a week for mosquitoes to develop from egg to adult, says Dr ings.
‘So, if you left your paddling pool full of water and went away on holiday for a week, you could come back to clouds of freshly hatched mosquitoes,’ he adds.
BREEDING BUGS
LeAving paddling pool water overnight, or longer, increases the chances of cultivating some nasty germs.
‘Paddling pools are prone to such bacteria such as Cryptosporidium, giardia, norovirus, Shigella and e. coli and their growth is often accelerated, for example, by bird droppings falling in or dogs jumping in,’ says Dr Zubair Ahmed, a gP from MedicSpot. ‘As many parents don’t chlorinate the pools, these bacteria thrive and can lead to a wide variety of conditions, such as eye, ear, skin, gastrointestinal and neurological infections.
‘And swallowing even a small amount of infected water can make you sick.’
the most common recreational water illness is diarrhoea, he adds. ‘Unfortunately, recreational water illnesses are on the rise — raising concerns for the safety of paddling pools.’
CHLORINE TOLERANT
‘tHeRe are some germs that are tolerant to chlorine and it can take days for it to completely kill them, regardless of how small the pool is,’ says Dr Ahmed.
Furthermore, chlorine is a natural irritant and can have serious health implications when used incorrectly. exposure to toxic levels of chlorine has been linked to asthma and an increased risk of developing cancer.
to reduce the risk of illness from your paddling pool, change the water regularly. if you suspect your child is suffering from a recreational water illness, visit a gP as soon as possible.