- Swimming Pools and Eye Health
As the weather gets warmer and the summer months arrive, more of us will prefer swimming pools to cool off. Especially due to busy work lives and increasingly short holiday periods, many employees now try to spend their after-work hours by the pool on weekends or weekdays, instead of going on long holidays. In this way, we replenish our vitamin D stores in the body by taking advantage of sunlight and relieve some stress from our busy work lives. Swimming pools and even water slides become joyful weekend recreation for children and a means of having good times with their parents.
- What should we pay attention to to protect our eye health at the pool and under the sun? ?
The time we spend at the pool actually starts at the poolside. It is very important to protect our eyes by wearing sunglasses with appropriate protection outside the pool and under the sun. We need to give our children the habit of wearing sunglasses from an early age. Because the harmful effects of sunlight on the eyes (cataracts, bird wings, age rings on the cornea, cancers in the skin around the eyes, etc.) usually appear after a long time. When buying sunglasses, you should choose products that have a certificate showing that they block ultraviolet rays and have a CE certificate, which indicates compliance with the European Union safety criteria. We can protect our eyes from the harmful rays of the sun by using sunglasses from an early age.
- What threatens our eye health in the pool?
Cleaning and cleaning of pools We all know the measures taken for hygiene; Chlorine and other disinfectants are used to destroy microorganisms in pool water. However, we still witness eye infections and even outbreaks of eye infections caused by pool water. The organisms that cause them multiply and cause infection when chlorine and other disinfectants decrease in pool water. Especially the microorganism called adenovirus is surprisingly Thanks to its durability, it can be the main cause of infection outbreaks in pool water. These infections typically become more common in the spring and summer months. Although adenoviruses most commonly cause upper respiratory tract infections, they can also cause severe eye conjunctivitis, diarrhea and ear infections. In addition, chlorine and other disinfectants in the pool can cause allergies in people with allergies and spring fever.
- What can be done to protect our eye health in the pool?
First of all, you can start by asking whether the cleaning and hygiene rules are followed in the maintenance of the pools, that is, by choosing a pool. The recommended pH value of pool water is between 7.2 and 7.8, and the free chlorine level is between 1 and 3 parts per million. It must be in the /strong> range. In addition, we can contribute to the hygiene of pool water by taking personal precautions. For example, we should not go to the pool when we are sick (diarrhea, conjunctivitis, upper respiratory tract infections). In this way, we prevent microorganisms that may originate from us from reaching the pool. Before entering the pool, we must take a shower with soapy water. In this way, we do not change the acidity (pH) of the pool water and the chlorine and other disinfectants in the pool water protect us better. Taking a shower again after every 1 hour we spend in the pool will reduce the sweat and other secretions that will pass from our body to the pool and maintain the balance of the pool water. If we use the toilet before entering the pool or in between, we should definitely wash our hands with soap, and it is among our recommendations to wash our feet with sterilizing water before entering the pool.
As a personal precaution, pool goggles can be used when entering the pool. This way, we ensure that our eyes come into contact with the pool water as little as possible. Microbial agents such as Adenovirus often use the mouth and respiratory tract to enter the body; For this reason, it is very important not to drink pool water and not to circulate it in our mouth and nose.
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