Matt Gohlke

Over the past two months, one of the hottest topics in the news related to swimming  — besides, of course, Michael Phelps’ performance at the Olympics — has been “crypto,” short for cryptosporidium.

Crypto has become recognized as one of the most common causes of recreational water illness in the United States.

It has made quite a few people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area ill this summer, most of whom were swimming in public pools.

Much of the local publicity surrounding crypto centered on Burger’s Lake in Fort Worth, which is a one-acre, spring-fed lake with sandy beaches and a sandy bottom.

It is really a unique place that is worth visiting, and it is too bad that it received the negative publicity that it did.

The water in Burger’s Lake is chlorinated, filtered and chemically maintained in the same way that other public pools are. Although the pools that have been the focus of the media have been public pools, the same situation could occur in a residential pool.         

Crypto is found in infected people’s stools and cannot be seen by the naked eye.

It is spread by swallowing pool water that has been contaminated with fecal matter.

Diarrhea creates a higher risk than does formed stool, experts say.

The good news is that germs causing recreational water illnesses, such as crypto, are killed by chlorine.

However, chlorine doesn’t work right away.

It takes time to kill germs, and some germs like crypto can live in pools for days.

Even the best-maintained pools can spread illness.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preven­tion Web site, healthy swimming behaviors protect you and your kids from illnesses like this and will help stop germs from getting in the pool in the first place.

Here are six “pleas” that promote healthy swimming:

• Please don’t swim when you have diarrhea.

• Please don’t swallow pool water.

• Please practice good hygiene. Take a shower before swimming and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers.

• Please take your children for bathroom breaks, and check diapers often.

• Please change diapers in a bathroom and not at poolside.

• Please wash your child thoroughly, especially the rear end, with soap and water before swimming.

If you know of a fecal matter accident that leaves a pool in need of treatment, call your pool professional or visit the CDC Web site.

But the most important thing to remember is: “Don’t drink the water!”

Matt Gohlke, certified building professional, is the owner of Gohlke Pools and a member of the National Spa & Pool Institute, Aquatech (a society of pool building professionals), Better Business Bureau and an authorized dealer of Bioguard and Baquacil. Gohlke may be reached at 940-387-7521.