Majority Of People Admit To Washing In Pools And Skipping A Shower, Doctors Actually Say It's OK
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Pools apparently aren't just for relief from the summer heat.
Many people admit they've jumped in a pool instead taking a shower. Even the CDC is weighing in on the debate and you might be surprised with the advice coming from doctors.
When you think summer, chances are you think of pools, but this popular way of cooling down has become a hot topic. Many are using it as a substitute to a shower to keep clean -- a concept drawing a lot of opinions, especially from parents.
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"I'm not surprised but I don't think it's a particularly good idea to not shower," Celeste Chmielewski of Glen Rock said.
"As long as you don't tell people, no one needs to know," Paramus grandmother Cynthia Dahl added.
"We need to shower our kids after the pool, definitely," Wyckoff mother Heather Frisco countered.
According to the CDC, 51 percent of Americans surveyed admitted to using swimming as an alternative to bathing. At least one Paramus mother says this is a non-option.
"That is absolutely disgusting," Leslie Pugliese argued.
A local grandfather said it's not that serious and lets his granddaughter go the day without a shower after the pool if she doesn't want to.
"I don't think it's a big deal, chlorine is in the pool and they're clean," Carl Lalomia explained.
It's a sentiment Dr. Dyan Hes actually agrees with.
"Most of my patients get in the shower and, unless their parents are bathing them, they don't even use soap," the medical director for Gramercy Pediatrics said.
The pediatrician added you only have to worry about chlorine if your child has a rash or skin infection. Other than that, it'll keep them clean.
"I actually don't think it's so bad because chlorine is antibacterial and it's going to kill most of the germs."
She said they can go up to three days without bathing, but you want to make sure extremities such as hands are washed with soap.
"Medically, nothing is going to happen to them but for hygiene, you might want your kids to smell like something nicer than a chlorine pool," Dr. Dyan explained.
So it may not smell as good, but a splash of pool water could be more beneficial, than a splash of perfume.
