Vomit and swimming pool

[Dunnoburt]

I have severe emetophobia so maybe iabu but I wanted to know if I should mention something to the sports centre. Swimming lessons this morning and a child vomited profusely on poolside, not directly in the water as they had managed to get out. The lifeguard proceeded to get the scoopy thing and took water from the swimming pool and tipped it over the sick to wash it down into the outside overflowey bit right on the edge of the pool. Surely that's a health hazard? And potentially infecting everyone due to swim that day, filters or not! Like I said I'm severely emetophobic and a bit invested as my child was in the pool so dont know if im overreacting- the child was sick two more times that i saw outside the centre (poor kid) so i suspect bug rather than water ingestion - should I say something to the sports centre, maybe education required? Ive googled it and chlorine does not immediately kill norovirus. Prepared to be told iabu.

I wouldn’t happy going into that pool either.

I was absolutely flabbergasted!

Rank!

One of the many words I used lol I was just happy there were only 5 min of the lesson left! 😅

That’s so gross. There’s no way I’d be getting in that pool ever again!! Recently a kid was sick in the pool where my kids have lessons and the pool was closed for the day while they properly cleaned it - all the lessons were cancelled and we all got an email from the swim school asking us to not give our kids any food for at least an hour before swimming.

You need to take this further. Terrible hygiene. Poor kid not their fault being ill. I wouldn't be using the pool again

It's really put me off about going there, ive never witnessed anything bodily fluid in a pool before however my friend messaged me that they had a "code brown" a few months ago and it was immediately vacated and closed for draining - but that was in the actual pool, but surely the side drain bits just get filtered and return to the pool. I think I'm going to say something, just needed to know it wasn't the phobia taking over.....

Thank you. It's awful, and the poor kid too.

That’s disgusting.

Ex lifeguard here. The pool chemicals zap pretty much all bugs otherwise we would all get ill every time we went in a pool. Believe me, there are MUCH worse things left on or near pools than vomit. A

In the pool I worked in, vomit went into a yellow biohazard bag so I very much doubt that lifeguard was following his training so you probably should drop the management a note so they can remind him of the correct procedure.

Children frequently vomit in the pool due to swallowing water. The only time we would ever shut the pool was if somebody vomited in the water and they were ill. If that happened we would close tbe pool for long enough to be 100% certain that it was totally clean.

Vomiting on the side just needs cleaning up - takes 5 minutes so doesn't need a pool closure.

I agree, that’s totally unacceptable.
Surely they have biohazard spillage kits (usually some sort of bleach powder they can sprinkle over the bodily fluid and then scoop it up?) The thought of rinsing it back into the pool has made me feel sick.

Thank you, can I ask, does cleaning up constitute washing it into the overflow? I was expecting mop and bucket etc.

<off topic but an amusing anecdote>

DC2 aged about 4 months decided the end of a swimming lesson was a good time for 3 day poonami. The swimming nappy had never seen anything like it and frankly may as well not have been there.

I had to carry DC2 along the poolside, trailing liquid shit, while the swimming teacher told the toddlers waiting for their class to start that it was cancelled - and they all burst into tears. It was my most embarrassing parent moment ever.

That did close the pool. 18 years later, DC2 was a lifeguard in that very pool!

I don’t know that pool and don’t fully know what you mean but I very much doubt that would be the correct procedure. Just send management a polite note or ask to speak to the duty manager. Just tell them what you saw and ask if that is the correct procedure because you were worried that it was unhygienic. They should be very happy to answer that. Leisure centre staff are usually lovely, by the way.

Haha and how brilliant they are now a lifeguard, that's what my nipper wants to be! (Although today may have temporarily put her off 🤣🤣)

I normally cannot fault the staff, they are, as you say, lovely! I shall take your advice thank you x

I would highly recommend lifeguarding for young people - primarily because it is one of the few jobs that is actually easy to get because most leisure centres are crying out for staff. It is also reasonably well paid and generally not very demanding unless there are loads of children in tbe pool.

Both my DCs did it and worked in the school and university holidays at the leisure centre. DC2 actually has 2 jobs - 1 at uni and one at home.

Also, they both learnt so much - both are fantastic at cleaning and both organised the cleaning in their respective student flats in a similar way to how they had learnt in the leisure centre (ie on a rota - daily jobs, weekly jobs, monthly jobs etc). Both also became far more confident in talking to adults they did not know and also made new friends. Oh and certainly on our leisure centre, free use of all the facilities and classes. Both started going to the gym when they became lifeguards.

The situation you describe is disgusting and not the right way to clean up for infection control. But it's very very unlikely that a pool would be drained, ever.

Vomit gets scooped out, then they super-chlorinate, adjust the chemicals, and keep the filtration running.
Draining a pool would waste thousands of litres of water and take days (weeks sometimes) to refill, rebalance, and reheat. It can also the pool structure to collapse in on itself.

They only ever fully drain for major repairs or structural issues.

It’s chemical treatment plus closure for a set time, not emptying the pool.

My daughter is most definitely not going to be a brain surgeon, but shes a bloody good swimmer and has common sense, I suggested it to her after sitting on the toilet and seeing a poster 🤣

But the vomit was never in there in the first place, that's what dumbfounded me. Thank you, I pray we've dodged a bullet 😁

You said friend's pool was 'closed and vacated for draining' after a code brown - very unlikely that's what's happened, that's what I was responding to.

Ah ok, it was actually the same pool and apparently the lifeguards blew whistles emergency evacuation style (she found it amusing hence why she text me), i just cant believe they didnt clean it up properly instead of rinsing it into the pool (albeit the gulley). Just instant ick.

I still remember the mortification when my child swallowed water, coughed and then threw up in the pool. We all had to evacuated and the pool had to be cleaned. I thought that was the procedure everywhere.

Thanks everyone, I mulled it over (hate being a pain/moaning minnie) and by 11.30 this morning I emailed the attached screenshot......this is ok right?

Vomit being in a public pool filter system is the least of your worries. Every splash of water has been between several arse cracks, under many ball sacks, through a good few fanny flaps before it gets on your face. Pools in general are vile.