Beware Of This Nasty Parasite Lurking In Swimming Pools

Nothing like jumping in a pool on a hot steamy day to cool off.

BUT... Beware of this nasty parasite lurking in the swimming pool.

ABC7 shares that pools may look clean and clear but they could have "microscopic parasites" floating in them.

The nasty parasite is call "Cryptosporidium, or Crypto for short." It's spread through fecal matter.

It's said that "even a small amount can contain millions of germs."

Ewww....

Basically it gets into the pool if a child has an accident in there or any type of waste elimination happens in the waters.

Regular levels of Chlorine won't kill it either. It can live up to 10 days in the pool waters.

"The only way to effectively kill Crypto is to have a professional super-chlorinate the water and then slowly bring it back to normal levels again. The process can take at least eight hours."

The symptoms of a Crypto infection "can lead to weeks of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting."

How it's contracted is if any of the water is swallowed.

So how do you prevent it?

• "Anyone who is experiencing diarrhea or has been sick should not swim. Have people take a shower or at least rinse off before they swim."
• "Have kids take frequent bathroom breaks to reduce the risk of accidents. That goes for babies as well."

Eww... How gross.