The 3 Most Common Illnesses You Can Catch At A Swimming Pool

There’s nothing more refreshing than cooling off in the pool on a hot summer day. But as temperatures rise, pools and water parks tend to become more and more crowded with people.

Though chemicals in the water (like chlorine and bromine) kill many viruses and bacteria, there are still certain germs that may be lurking in the water — and it’s important to know what you can do to avoid them.

“You can get swimming-related illnesses … [from] water contaminated with germs,” explained Jasen Kunz, the healthy water program lead at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch.

Sickness can also result from “having contact with chemicals that are in the water or inhaling chemicals that evaporate … and turn into gas in the air,” Kunz noted.

Thankfully there are steps you can follow to significantly reduce your chances of getting sick from going in the water . We talked to experts about the most common illnesses people can pick up from the pool — and tips for avoiding them.

The most common cause of swimming-related illness outbreaks is diarrhea.

“This is one of the reasons why, if there is a fecal accident in a pool, there is protocol the lifeguards and pool operators follow before allowing people back into the water,” explained Dr. Clare Rock , an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Millions of germs can get into the water when someone with diarrhea has an accident, and other people can get sick by swallowing even a small amount, Kunz told HuffPost.

What’s more, someone doesn’t necessarily need to have an accident in the water for others to get sick. Small particles of poop can come off of people’s bodies while swimming, so you may not necessarily