BATHS AND BACTERIA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22834, 19 March 1936, Page 7

BATHS AND BACTERIA

TO THE EDITOR g lß^ —The summer months are now over, and tepid baths throughout the country will become increasingly popular with the swimming public. It would, no doubt, alarm and horrify many of these enthusiasts if they realised the teeming multitudes of disease-spreading microbes that infest even the most carefully-kept public swimming baths. The health authorities do their best to control bacterial growth by means of cleaning the baths frequently, and by disinfecting the water. But they are powerless to prevent the rapid growth of micro-organisms which are brought to the water on the bodies of the bathers themselves. In addition, the water W, in many cases, kept at approximately blood heat, which allows the organisms to multiply and grow with great rapidity. The present system of water purification cannot be improved on without con; siderable expenditure and labour, but it those who hold themselves responsible for the general health of the community couli only make the bath menace known, either through your columns or in other ways, then, perhaps, the all-too-frequent sore throats and infected eyes would show a verv definite decrease. Would-be bathers suffering even from such slight ailments as the common cold, or boils, minor skin diseases, or sore throats, should not. in fairness to other people, enter the baths. It should be compulsory for every bather before entering the water to have a shower for at least five minutes. Another shower should be taken at the end of the swim. Most bathhouses supply excellent showering facilities, but fail to draw public attention to the importance of using them intelligently. If simple precautions such as these were carried- out by every bather, irrespective of age or sex, then there would he a reasonable hope that the steady stream of eye, nose, and throat infections, which can bo traced to issue from the nearest tepid hath, would materially diminish—l nm. etc.. Proteus XID. Dunedin. March 18.