There's no getting around it: Kids pee in swimming pools. That's why there's tons of chlorine in there, too, to clean it up! Yet according to the CDC, all that urine still has some unexpected effects on us.
So here's what happens: The chlorine doesn't eliminate urine per se — rather, it binds with it, as well as with sweat and other waste being shed from our bodies.
What's more, these chemical conglomerations are irritants — and they not only swish around in the water but can float up into the air.
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So this, in a nutshell, is why our eyes get red in the pool. Chlorine is often blamed for this, but it's actually this chlorine/urine combo.
All I can say is: yuck! The only way to really help curb this is to emphasize to your kids that they should pee before they jump in … and also take showers. As for other parents, well, you've just gotta trust they're doing the same thing … and that their kids are listening.
Plus, these irritants will be worse in enclosed spaces like indoor pools. So if you've got options, head to an outdoor pool instead! Otherwise you're at the mercy of kids to do the right thing — and, well, here's to hoping they'll be grossed out enough themselves to stop peeing in the pool already.
Do you think your kid pees in the pool?
Image via JaySi/shutterstock
