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Subscribe to RSSHey, summer beachgoers: You might think twice about packing those swim fins and snorkels.
A new study by Florida scientists trying to account for pollution suggests that staying out of the water might keep you healthier than going for a dip.
Even in waters with no known impurities, swimmers were more likely to get sick than sunbathers who stayed on the shore, said Jay M. Fleisher, an associate professor of public health at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale-Davie.
"We know that waters that have been contaminated with sewage will cause illness," said Fleisher. "We wanted to see whether people were actually getting sick from a beach that had no pollution."
The answer, it turned out, was yes. Fleisher and his crew sent 1,303 adults to Hobie Beach near Miami, a site known for its pristine waters. Half were told to stay dry and other half were sent to swim.
Within a week, it was clear that going in the water took a toll on the bathers. Swimmers were 1.76 times as likely to report stomach troubles; 4.46 times times more likely to report illnesses with fevers, sniffles and sore throats; and 5.91 times more likely to report itching, rashes and other skin woes.
The culprit? Scientists aren't certain, but they suspect enterococcus bacteria, nasty critters normally found in the feces of people and many animals. Health officials typically detect the bacteria in waters sullied by sewage spills, but they were surprised to find it – sometimes in high concentrations – in a beach area without known contamination.
The findings raise troubling questions about public beach water monitoring in the absence of known sewage spills and about whether – and when – it's necessary to warn people about potential health problems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is grappling with the question now, trying to decide whether there's a better way to identify markers of risk, Fleisher said.
In the meantime, Fleisher notes that although swimmers were more likely to become ill than non-swimmers, the number of actual illnesses among people who went in the water was small.
Only about 1 in 100 people developed respiratory illness with fever, and only about 2 in 100 came down with gastrointestinal illness. About 6 in 100 developed skin ailments.
"The individual risk to the bather is fairly low," Fleisher said. "But when you multiply that by the number of people who go on the beach, you could start having a public health problem."
If Fleisher had his way, every beach would be posted with a stoplight-type sign that signals green, yellow or red conditions for healthy water quality.
Barring that, summer swimmers shouldn't be afraid to go in the water, he said. But they might stay healthier if they stick to the shore.
Do you worry about swimming in public waters? Tell us in the comments.
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Well, what do people expect when they dump trash in the ocean? The NYC dump is a pier, with a boat that they load all the trash on and then go to out in the ocean and dump.
It's a shame we have dumped so much crap in our water and now it is certainly coming back to haunt us.
Some of my best memories as a child are those where we went swimming at the beach. In those days, we only had to worry about red tides. How sad for our children and grandchildren that they will not be able to have fun like we did! What are we doing to our planet? No wonder Pacha Mama is angry!
I have a good Idea, Don't move, sit in front of your TV and spray disinfection spray in your room. Create a sterile invironment and dont leave it. You may be likely not to get anything. You will only become lame, Fat and nasty. Which is also unhealthy and causes u too get sick. I ate mud Pies, fell down playing in the street. Played with fire and got burned. I fell off my bike because I had to jump the curb and after all of that, IM STILL ALIVE:-) Screw these morons with nothing better to do than look for what might be wrong:-)
good call...
I'm with Matt the bat, I fell out of an apple tree and broke my ankle, my sister and I went a%% over nose when the bike on which I was giving her a ride on the handlebar flipped, wiped out about three toboggans. All before we were even in our teens. I/we are still alive, we had an energetic lively and healthy childhood. Instead of spending all our time in an antiseptic, temperature-controlled environment, we LIVED. We also learned our limitations and abilities without having to kill ourselves in the process. Neither of us is or has ever been overweight. Kids today are growing up wimpy, soft, helpless, fat, sickly and pitiful.
Every sailor knows that you NEVER swim in coastal waters and you NEVER swim in the ocean at all if you have any break in the skin (even acne.)
Not true!!! There are exceptional healing properties in ocean water, especially for cuts or grazes. However if the water is contaminated for any reason it will make you sick. It is scandulous to assume that swimming in the ocean is bad. Would you eat food that has been contaminated with fecal matter?
Every sailor knows that you NEVER swim in coastal waters and you NEVER swim in the ocean at all if you have any break in the skin (even acne.)
I stand by what I said: One never exposes any cut or scrape to blue ocean water for more than a few minutes. Salt water sores can be deadly and have killed any number of people who did little things like just trail their hands of feet in the ocean while boating. NEVER put ocean water on a cut or a scrape. This little tidbit could save your life.
For further information of salt water sores, just google it. Coastal waters are different. They are so contaminated that there is a "base assumption" that coastal waters are uniformly contaminated with fecal matter, industrial waste, and other nasties. The CDC has lots about it on their web site.
With what I've seen people doing lately at my local beaches, letting their kids go to the bathroom right on the beach, changing diapers and leaving them to float around in the water and other disgusting behavior, you wouldn't catch me dead swimming in there. People are PIGS!
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww.
Although I agree that congested coastal waters are probably contaminated with feces etc., there is no way that NYC is dumping its garbage in the ocean!
I was horrified and did a quick Google search and came up with the following:
http://cooperator.com/articles/1323/1/Where-Does-the-Garbage-Go/Page1.html
Sharks, jelly fish, and poop in the water...throw in skin cancer from abundant sunshine...ah, my overcast home in north-east Ohio never looked better! If only we could win a sports championship though...
throw in skin cancer from abundant sunshine"
its only sunny at the beach??? thats crazy...stay under your rock of a world and never enjoy the beautiful sunsets in life..you can get sick anywhere not just the beach..
FYI, you can still get harmful UV rays through clouds. Even if it is overcast, you can still get skin damage. The key is to protect your skin, wear a hat, and use common sense.
Quite right. And UV rays can be particularly intense at the beach- the water reflects them up at you, as does the glistening sand.
as a melanoma survivor, I cannot express the need more urgently than just to say.."protect your skin" ...I was raised on an island, spent many of my middle years out in the sun, golf,boating,and swimming pool in the backyard. I loved the sun...It did not love me...despite several surgeries that took me off the golf course as a competitor and a complete life style change. I am one of the lucky ones. I am still alive..many do not survive the disease. btw...even when you are in the water healthy or not, the sun can still reach you.
Lets be honest... of course some people are going to get sick going in the water. The waves are carrying the worst to the shore where people ARE pigs much of the time and it only gets worse in the warmer water due to the shallowness. But to imply that people should stay on the shore and bake... I imagine the consequences are much greater doing that. Not to mention the foolishness of making a case for people to be scared of getting some exercise in one of the best ways to get some in the summer. What is the point of causing panic amongst the some who will take the article seriously. The reprecussions (sp?) seem minor and I imagine no worse than letting your children swim in the kiddie pool. At this point what can we do that, according to the media, wont leave us in the hospital. Shame on you.
Anything you do or eat is bad for you, anymore. But if you don't, it could make for a boring life. Have SOME FUN!
I have been going to the ocean to vacation/swim, etc. since a child and I do not remember ever getting ill from ocean swimming. I live in South Florida, on the Atlantic Coast, and the water is almost as clear as tap water. I am also a scuba diver and have dove off NC, FL, Curacao, Aruba, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and more and have never even gotten the sniffles. I don't see the problem. Yes, there are places I would not dive at, and my former home state of NJ is one of them, especially North Jersey. I remember needles and syringes being found floating in the waters, beaches having to close for several days.Different story there.
No place is perfect, and nothing is totally safe. I think ocean swimming is not that big a deal as it pertains to swimming and having a good time. This report will definitely not keep me out of the waters I love so much. We all have to die of something, you know. As another poster commented, relax and have some fun. Don't b e stupid, but don't take everything you hear as gospel. It ain't!!
Humm-10% get sick. wonder what it will be 10 years, 20 years from now. I love boogie boarding at Huntington in SoCal!
Huntington is SWEET
Love Huntington. Like others said, we're gonna die anyway and we all know it so get out there and have fun. I'm going to thee east coast in a week and heck yes i'm gonna go way out in the water and relax. I'll be fine.
My fellow Americans, come to Croatia and its most beautiful and cleanest waters and beaches found anywhere in the world! I guaranty you that you will NEVER get sick from it! The Adriatic coast of Croatia, when experienced for the first time, is a sure thing to win over many a skeptic that such paradise does exist in the heart of Europe. You will also enjoy most breathtaking sunsets, culinary delights that will amaze you with fresh ingredients, organically grown produce picked daily from small farms and gardens and fish from the crystal clear depths of the Adriatic's unspoiled waters. So, come and enjoy! Oh, and I promise that you won't swim with the sharks either, maybe only with some humans who are nicknamed that way ;-)
My sister is going this summer and I'm jealous...I've heard you have a beautiful country and I don't go in the water here anymore, since several summers ago when I got an instant, itchy rash all over after swimming in Manhattan Beach, right here in sunny So. Cal.!
My daughter and I just spent 5 days in Split and Dubrovnik. I guarantee Croatian is correct - it is gorgeous! I swam in the Adriatic a few times and it was clear, clean and refreshing. I live in So Cal and lets face it - its a different experience. I didn't realize how bacteria laden the waters are but it is freezing and the waves are huge - not as much fun for casual swimmers.
Loved Croatia and the Adriatic Sea and could not recommend this paradise more highly.
I know what you're saying. I lived in Glendale and worked in El Segundo, a mile from the Manhattan Beach. I'm in Nashville, TN now, nowhere near an ocean or a sea. The last time I went for a swim in those waters was back in 1981 when I was only 16 and said to myself "Never again!". Coming from Croatia I guess I've got spoiled enjoying the waters off the coast of Adriatic in Dalmatia (coastal region of Croatia). I've heard from my countrymen who traveled to Hawaii that it is the only place they could compare it with as far as the beauty of nature and the clearness of waters. Tell your sister to take a lot of pictures and videos. Cheers! :-)
Deborah, I could not agree with you more when you say that the Pacific Ocean water in So Cal is cold and waves are too strong for a nice and relaxing swim. I could also add to it that most Croatian beaches are naturally not sandy, but either rocky or pebbled. Lately, in the past 15 years or so, there have been some attempts at "modernizing" the more frequently visited beaches by foreigners (to appeal more to their taste) and so they added sand, which is fine because the waters are calm for the most part. The waves don't disturb the sand to mix with it too much and to the point where every orifice of your body is full of it once you come ashore. That's the thing I hated when I first got the taste of the Pacific in So Cal.
If it's so great, why aren't you there now?
When I was in Italy some years ago, it was forbidden to swim in the Adriatic due to contamination and pollution the whole two weeks I was there.
junieb, italian part of Adriatic coast is nothing to compare to croatian part. You should come and compare it yourself ;)
That's right, junieb. It's because the Italian coast line is heavily industrialized and the sea currents are colder, hence the reason why millions of Italians come to Croatia every summer to really enjoy their vacation. For decades Croatian coast line has been spared from overfishing, over-industrialization and runoffs from pesticide covered farm lands because, unlike Italy, we don't have much of any fertile valleys right next to the coast. As a matter of fact, most of our rivers that flow into Adriatic are a part of many national parks and preserves that are also frequented by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Because of their natural beauty and the state of preservation unsurpassed by any European country some are listed on the UNESCO's "World Heritage" list, such as Plitvice lakes and the Krka river.
The Hobie Beach I'm familiar with in Miami is actually the inner bay just south of Downtown Miami. The Miami River empties into this area which makes the area much more polluted than the open ocean.
I wouldn't define this study as ocean swimming.
If you do a study based on long-term exposure and exercise in the ocean rather than sitting on a couch at home I'm sure the people with an active life that swim in the ocean are healthier.
Maybe some of these people swallowed the water or were allergic to something, hence the sniffles. Or, they may have blasted the a/c in their car while wet, weakening their immune systems and exposing themselves to viruses. If you're not sticking your head underwater, I don't see why there should be any effect. I have never gotten any sort of illness while swimming in the ocean, but I don't swallow or let any water enter my mouth either.
Especially in the GULF OF MEXICO!
I always shudder to think of all the vacationers who come to swim in Galveston waters (GoM). Most of us who grew up near Galveston know better than to get in the water. If it becomes necessary for me to get wet at the beach (ex. have to wash my feet) I will break out in a horrible case of hives wherever the water touches. If the water in the GoM is known to have harmful bacteria then imagine how it's affecting the fish that we eat.
Most likely from all the Chemical plants like in Port Arthur dumping toxic waste in the ocean.. not to mention BP.
When I was doing commercial diving in the 70's we had urine samples 9 miles out from Long Beach Ca.
Imagine what it is today. And we still eat fish.
I just spent a week at a beach in Ga. Only one day did I get in the water - no, I didn't dunk my head under - only knee high and I got an eye infection 2 days later. I was told that I picked up a bacteria at the beach and got it in my eyes which caused the infection.
which beach was that in Georgia, St. Simons Island, Sea Island or Jekyll? I am headed there in a few weeks...i am still going to check the bacteria levels before letting any of the kids swim..it's a family reunion..so there will be plenty of pools if the bacteria levels are high.
Damn intercoastal waterways for those huge ships that dump in the lanes..I remember as a child seeing all kinds of beautiful fish, huge sailfish...now your lucky if you see an occasional dolphin.:(
I would think that you would shower after you had your fun on the beach and wash off any impurities. Living in New Mexico the times I had been in the ocean you can count on one hand so I think I will be alright.
In April I went to Ponce Inlet Florida to see a sea turtle being released back in the Ocean. My shoes got wet from the beach water. When I got home I had a mild stomach disturbace. I don't know if it was related to my feet being in the water, but you would have to wonder.
Lucy 123.... obviously, you did not indulge in Margaritas. Tequilla would have killed any of that stomach disturbance you describe. Works for me.
The average life expectancy is up significantly over the past 50 years. Amazing isn't it that we can live longer, healthier lives and still have soooo many things trying to make us ill. It's gotta be right because one group (only one) conducted a limited study. I (SCUBA) dive all over the G.O.M. as well as some of our fresh water lakes/springs - I promise you that the ocean doesn't hold any more risk of illness than hiking a trail in the woods or traveling. C'mon folks - get real - spend your time and money on studying something a little more relevant.
The reason life expectancy has gone up is because we do question things and make improvements.
One of the biggest changes that helped life expectancy and health is understanding that people crowded in cities and using the Thames river for excrement and then drinking same was causing illness and death.
We should never be satisfied with the status quo to appease those who make money by things remaining the same.
Thanks, WHT3! In any article that touches on our environmental impact you always get crazy comments from both sides of the issue ("we're all going to die!" - "if you liberals hate america so much, go back to never never land!" etc.). But to say a study concerning the safety of ocean water is a waste of time? Sheesh! Aside from eating food and breathing air, the cleanliness of our ocean water is probably pretty crucial to survival and other such things.
I don't have a problem questioning the status quo, but would like to know what group of "Florida Scientists" did this study...What is the control group. I question everything and would like some additional facts that the author didn't provide. My point is that there are hazards everywhere you look. Oceans, Forests, Mountains, Deserts, etc. I can site studies that show walking in the woods in the midwest is even more harmful than swimming in the oceans. How about shopping? How many people get ill by eating out? Take a few preventive measures and you can prevent the majority of issues.
I agree with you on this. I'd also add that this study is fairly amatateur in it's exectution. I'd be willing to bet that the "itching and skin" problems they reported are from the salt water and have nothing to do with bacteria. Same with the sore throat. I was a lifeguard for many years and salt water can and does dry your skin out and causes irritation. It also can irritate your sinuses and throat. If you look at the study, the biggest complaint is skin ailments. The other complaint of stomach ailments had the smallest percent increase in complaints vs the non-swimmers. Stomach problems were only 1.76 times more likely in the swimmers. That's a small amount and could be attributed to a number of things. Furthermore, their popluation was relatively small and only measured one beach over the course of a single week.
Statistically speaking this study is not very scientific because it leaves too many variables unaccounted for. Better and more conclusive studies should be made before we start claiming our beaches are making us sick. To even make assertations like this based on a tiny little study filled massive gaps and flaws, is unscientific at best and unethical at worst. All it does is give people more pointless things to worry about. Give us a large scale study from numerous beaches over different time periods and account for the effects of salt water on the body, and then we might be able to start making vast claims like this.
You would think that someone would shower after having fun on the beach to wash off most impurities. Also I take into consideration that living in New Mexico and the times I've been vacationing in the ocean haven't been enough to have any bad impact so I feel alright.
Rush Limbaugh and his ditto heads don't believe in pollution. They say "pollution" is a commie word.
The findings raise troubling questions about public beach water monitoring in the absence of known sewage spills and about whether – and when – it's necessary to warn people about potential health problems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is grappling with the question now, trying to decide whether there's a better way to identify markers of risk, Fleisher said. WRONG!
The findings tell us the mankind is the jerk who is screwing up the planet. There are too many people and they are all consumers. Consuming causes waste. Too many people = too much waste.
You could be right - so your solution would be to eliminate the population of the earth...hmmmm, you volunteering to go first?
WHT- Pollution exists- if you and 20,000 other liberals swim in the ocean, it will get polluted. But that is not my point.
I used to swim in the ocean at Bolsa Chica Beach in California in the '80's. I got sick. I swam in Hawaii at Ke'e beach and Kealekakua Bay in 1990. I did not get sick, but people who went swimming at Waikiki told me they did get sick. More people more bacteria, more pollution. Simple enough!
Atleast those in the gulf of mexico that go smimming are safe as they are swimming on oil. Regarding beach testing, the public usually has old results which means they swim when it is polluted and are told the beach is closed on days that there is no pollution.
yes, I definately worry about swimming in public waters. Its actually pretty gross to me to swim in filth we are unaware of. On another note, If there ARE in face signs posted relating to the status of the water and its potential contaminates, that is up to the 'swimmer, or bather" to enter those waters without caution. However, I can see how it could become a "public" health issue, because illnesses are contagious. I just think that if people are going to take the risk of becoming ill for summer fun, to at least take caution for community sake.
This is common sense news.. People are so nasty they deficate in the ocean, lake or any body of water where they think people can't see their business. I haven't been in the ocean for more then 10 years. People need to be more considerate of others. However, I'm a firm believer of "reaping what you sow". Hopefully those people will get a mouth full!!!
I took care of a patient once that had contracted a parasite because he swam in the ocean almost everyday. He was a great physical specimen but the parasite went to his brain and eventually killed him.Folks, this is a very hostile planet. We are the hosts that many bacteria and viruses are looking for.