To find this a bit worrying

[LittleNicci]

DS went for his swimming lesson after school today and during the lesson another kid threw up at the side of the pool. One of the pool attendants then spent about 20 minutes scooping water out of the pool over the pile of sick so it could wash down the drainage grates. Surely this would then flow back into the pool through the filter system, where all the other kids were still swimming. I don't know whether to complain to whoever manages the pool about the obvious health risks. DP says I'm over-reacting.

just lumps!

LOL peedoffwithnits , yep I was worried about taking my baby there after that it was not a common bug to quite a nasty one. Signs up there everywhere saying please don't enter the pool if you feel unwell, and if someone has a accident they immediately turn the system off to stop it getting in the filter and empty the pool.

They had only just built it to must of lost thousands about 3months it was closed they had to have health inspectors the lot.

Wow. I guess, with a puke being no more than a half a litre, and all the chunks well filtered, and a children's teaching pool containing approximately 150,000 litres (I have assumed a length of 15m, depth of 1m, width of 10m), then once filtered, there should be a dilution of one part puke to 300,000 parts water. Hardly a health issue, in heavily chlorinated water.

In my DS's teaching pool, one child pissed in the pool (as if they all don't, ffs), all lessons were postponed until they had drained the pool, cleaned it with disinfectants and refilled it. A horrendous waste of water and other resources (including parent's time) for a completely benign and miniscule contamination.

People really worry about this sort of calamity too much, methinks. We're almost all happy to swim in the sea, which is used as a toilet by every fish, whale, and turtle, and by all humans living within earshot of the surf. Perhaps OP ought to listen to DP a bit more in order to become more relaxed.

Snobear my pool doesn't do it with urine which is sterile just pooh and sick. (I should know dp was in the pool with ds when ds decided to stand on the outside and pee into the pool dp stood trying to catch it saying stop peeing ). The lifeguards thought it was hysterical, ds was immediately taken out and has not done it since .

Hahaha oh slushy, I wish I had seen that.

I worked as a lifeguard for 4 years and if anyone poo'd or threw up in the pool we had to close it for 24 hours and up the chlorine levels to flush it all through. Not for wee but they didn't want to risk people getting sick from vomit/poo. I wouldn't be happy tbh and yes I swim in the sea but that's full of salt.

It has to run through the filter twice before it is "safe" technically so the pool "should" close for approximately/up to 48 hours but I dont think its legislation, just a guideline of best practice.

My DS has been sick in our local pool TWICE! I can confirm that they blow a whistle and get everyone out . Pool is then shut and they have a hoover thing that cleans any 'debris'.

I can also confirm that the pool stays shut (though luckily there is at least a larger pool here people can use), it is also a fact that people talk about you/your child in the changing rooms and possibly even point!

Related to the above i would add please dont ever feed your child a double chocolate chip cookie as a pre-swim snack as the attendant will not know if it is poo or sick when re-deposited on hgte side of the pool.

Aside from all that i would think that the chlorine would sort any germs surely?

If you are sick in the water, then everyone should be evacuated from the pool for at least 24 hours. Sick may contain cryptosporidium oocysts that could infect everyone in the pool.

my friend worked at a pool- she has never swum again- not even in the sea. she would not even tell me some of the things she saw.