What happens in Vegas
doesn't always stay in Vegas.
This time it traveled with you back home.
Now your skin is swollen,
you can barely breathe and,
it hurts when you pee.
That hotel pool party
might have been a bad idea.
Don't mean to ruin your trip to Vegas,
but pools in warmer weather
have high bacterial or viral counts
in the water.
Add some drunk, sick or hungover guests,
and you have yourself a soup
seasoned with germs and dirt.
According to Dan Kaszeta,
a chemical officer for the
U.S. Army Chemical Corps,
you should never get into a pool
in Las Vegas.
In the late '90s,
he was asked to analyze
a suspicious substance
at a Las Vegas hotel.
During the investigation,
a sample of the hotel's pool water
was taken.
It was a false alarm for the substance,
but the pool sample appeared to have
animal and human fecal matter.
This was in addition to human urine
and trace amounts of cocaine
and ketamine.
It also had diarrhea-causing parasites,
adenoviruses linked
to respiratory conditions and pink eye,
plus rabbit fever bacteria.
A 2019 survey by the Water Quality
& Health Council of the U.S.
asked 3,100 adults
about their pool manners.
40% of adults
admitted to peeing in public pools,
while 24% said they would enter
within one hour of having diarrhea.
48% said they never shower
before going swimming,
even though 64% said
they knew that they should.
That's pretty gross, right?
So you know where to start.
Shower before you enter a pool, with soap.
Especially if you've gone
to the bathroom recently.
Try to wait at least one hour
after going number two.
Most people don't.
This explains why
many pools contain bacteria
normally found in the human gut,
such as E. coli.
What about urine?
I bet chlorine takes care of that, right?
Well, not exactly.
Better go to the washroom.
It might kill some germs,
but it doesn't necessarily keep you safe.
Chlorine can react chemically
with substances that we introduce
into the pool,
including our urine, sweat and sunscreen.
Studies have outlined
how the chemical byproducts
of these reactions
produce potentially
cancer-causing agents.
Less than one hour in a pool
is enough time for your body to absorb
alarming levels of these byproducts.
The reaction can also create
a chlorine and ammonia combo
called chloramines,
which can lead to asthma
or asthmatic symptoms.
And parasites like giardia
and cryptosporidium,
which can cause diarrhea,
are highly resistant to chlorine.
Never swallow water from the pool.
I'm talking about
pool test strips, of course.
Yes, it's sad to be the responsible person
on a trip to Las Vegas,
but everyone will thank you
when they get back home healthy.
Use a pool test strip to make sure
chlorine and pH are at the right level.
Try to avoid pools that are open
for extended hours,
as they likely do not take breaks
to clean their water.
Read the crowd.
Does that drunk guy
with a margarita in each hand
look like he cares about pool hygiene?
Yeah, I didn't think so either.
The Sun is out,
your favorite DJ is playing
and everyone is having fun.
You're only human.
No one will blame you for taking a dip.
Take a bathroom break every hour.
Wear sandals around the pool
to prevent your feet from contacting fungi
that could cause athlete’s foot.
Take off your bathing suit
immediately after swimming.
Lying around in wet clothes
could get you a yeast infection.
Don't eat right after
you get out of the pool.
Your hands are still covered
in a ton of germs and dirt,
so keep them away from your mouth.
Take a good shower,
use soap and dry well.
Make sure you don't have
water in your ears.
If you develop symptoms like coughing,
muscle pain or fever,
you may have been exposed to Legionella.
You will have to see your doctor
and receive antibiotics.
You survived that dip
at a Las Vegas hotel pool.
Maybe next time
you could go to the beach instead.
This one looks nice.
You just need to avoid
the great white sharks and riptides.
But don't worry.
We're here to help you with that.