Posted on 08/18/2022 6:36:43 AM PDT by Red Badger
Dr. Keith Roach is a physician at Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital. He writes an educational column on infectious diseases, public health and sports medicine.North America Syndicate
DEAR DR. ROACH: On vacation, or when swimming in a chlorinated pool, the question often arises: How does a quick shower compare to a half hour of swimming in a properly chlorinated private pool, which leaves you cleaner? I understand that soap and physically scrubbing your body could affect your cleanliness. -- R.H.
ANSWER: Chlorine in a swimming pool is added to keep you safe from germs in water. The amount of chlorine is just a bit less than the chlorine in drinking water. This is a surprise to people who have found that pool water hurts their eyes. The reason is that skin cells (and sweat, lotions and, yes, urine from swimmers) react with the chlorine in the pool to form substances called chloramines. These are what cause the irritation and cause you to have that chlorine odor when you get out of the pool.
I recommend a quick shower before you get into a pool to reduce contamination of the pool, and a thorough scrub with shampoo and soap when you get out, to wash off the chloramines.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 77-year-old man, and I had an ultrasound done because I noticed my left testicle seemed swollen. The result showed a large fluid collection (5 x 5 x 3 cm) superior to the left testicle. My doctor said to leave it as is, but if it bothered me, he could operate and remove it. Should it be removed? Will not removing it lead to other problems in the future? -- B.K.
ANSWER: A hydrocele is the name for a fluid collection in the testicle resulting from excess fluid production or reduced fluid reabsorption. They range in size from relatively small to massive. They can cause discomfort and skin irritation when they are large.
Most of the time, they do not need any treatment. Unless it really is bothering you, I wouldn’t generally recommend surgical treatment. You can certainly wait and get it done at any time, since the hydrocele does not put you at risk for any dangerous complications.
DEAR DR. ROACH: Is it possible to ever permanently recover from C. diff? I just had a second relapse and am taking vancomycin for several weeks, as I did the last two times. -- E.G.
ANSWER: Clostridium difficile, known as C. diff, is a stubborn bacteria that may normally live in the colon, but can overgrow the healthy bacteria to cause symptoms of watery diarrhea, often with fever and cramping.
Treatment with oral vancomycin has long been the usual first-line treatment, and it is usually effective. However, a newer antibiotic, fidaxomicin, has been proven more effective and would be a better choice for you, having failed a course of vancomycin.
Unfortunately, some people can even fail with fidaxomicin. There are other options, including a monoclonal antibody to the C. difficile toxin, bezlotoxumab, which can be given along with antibiotic treatment.
The best approach for C. diff is not to get it in the first place, which is a good time to remind people not to ask for antibiotics -- and for my colleagues not to prescribe them unless they are truly necessary. Long-term use of proton pump inhibitors, like omeprazole, also predispose people to developing C. diff, which is one reason I try to minimize use of these drugs.
Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.
Same with a hot tub. Mostly to wash the soap off your body/hair.
That is why you need anti foam treatment for hot tubs. They are only about 300-600 gallons of water. Pools are 20,000- 50,000 gallons. It is also why I will never use a public hot tub at a hotel/bed n breakfast, etc.
A buddy of mine had a cut on his index finger. He went into a hot tub at a motel after snowmobiling. His finger got infected. His finger is now about 3/4” shorter.
Their favorite food is earthworms
Yes, food grade DE. The same thing they mix with cattle/livestock feed. It kills bad insects.
There is another kind of DE used to coat the internal grid of swimming pool filters. I used to buy it when I had a pool. You do not want to use that kind on your yard.
“ They would pump air into the pool at night to cool down the water”
I had sprayers in Houston that would use air to cool the water that way.
I grew up in the Swimming Pool biz...Worked Wholesale, Retail and for myself cleaning them. It was a good biz....but moved on.
I am in NH. When I had a pool at my former house, I cut down every tree that shaded the pool from 7am to 7pm. The pool was oriented exactly east to west. With a solar cover, I could maintain 85 degrees from mid June to early September. The 6’ high Vinyl fence around the pool area helped too. I almost bought a roof solar water heater. Then I sold the house ten years ago.
It is foreign concept to my thinking on how I would COOL the water. Pools are such a waste in NH. You really only want one about two months of the year.
Our beach in our gulf coast neighborhood closed down after the 10 days of scallop season ended. There were reports of 500 plus boats off the beach and I’m sure it was one big toilet.
OMG! Water vapor is a greenhouse gas. Shut ‘em down. Damn rich people with their fancy pools.
Throw in some goldfish. Problem solved.
Except maybe for the drowning kids. Put in a lot of bleach, maybe? No skeeters, no kids playing.
Good way to have a pool pop out of the ground. VERY expensive to fix.
I remember when they put in my gunite pool at my former house they told me the story of a pool that popped up out of the ground due to hydrostatic pressure. They advised me to never empty the pool entirely. I sold the house when the pool was about ten years old.
I was told that around year 15-20 it would need to be plastered again.
You are correct. I have a saltwater pool with fusion filter for lower chlorine levels. Test strips still show much higher than regular tap water. If that statement was actually true, all I need to do is drain my pool a little and refill often.
Wow...the pool water at the Olympics in Brazil must have really been bad.
“but, no pool for me.”
That’s dumb. Pools have filters. Couches, air, and floors don’t but I bet you move through air and sit on things.
Yep, we have a place just west of Destin that called ‘Crab Island’ which is just a big submerged sandbar where the water is about 4 feet deep and hundreds of boats of all sizes anchor there every weekday and weekend during the tourist season.
The water report for that place would make you never ever want to get in the water again!
One teenage girl from Ohio supposedly contracted the meat eating bacteria there earlier this summer!
But people continue to go there......................
Enjoy yourself then, and I'll do the same.
No comment!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.