Can You Catch STDs By Simply Swimming In A Pool?

Swimming in a pool or indulging in a hot tub can be quite a nice bonding time with family and friends. But have you ever wondered if viruses and bacteria that cause sexually transmitted diseases (STD) can actually be contracted from merely swimming in a pool with someone who is infected?

As the label indicates, STDs can be caught when engaging in sexual practices with an infected person. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), STDs can be transferred from one person to another via direct contact. This includes unprotected forms of oral, anal, or vaginal sexual intercourse.

2015 STD Statistics

This means that when you just swim in a pool, you are not necessarily at risk of catching any of the dreaded STDs. That is, when you are NOT actually engaging in sexual intercourse in the pool with an infected person.

An infectious disease specialist at Stanford Health Care also weighed in on the matter. According to Dr. Edward Brooks, there is no known evidence that points to STDs being transmitted to people from just casually swimming. He explained that this is because STDs can only be transferred to other people via intimate exchange of bodily fluids.

Pool parties are fun though a bit unhealthy.

Of course, there are still other diseases you can get from casual swimming, if not STDs. Dr. Brooks told the Huffington Post all about them.

“The most common are diarrheal illnesses, transmitted by ingesting the organism accidentally while swimming in the pool.”

Dr. Brooks explained that this can only happen when a person with diarrhea goes swimming in the same pool and secretes infectious microorganism into the water. This is called fecal contamination. Once the contaminated pool water is ingested, chances are people will get stomach aches and diarrheal disorders.

Basic prevention measures to avoid STDs and those nasty diarrheal illnesses include proper hygiene and proper maintenance of pool and swimming facilities. After all, cleanliness is the best way to avoid germs.