May 22–28, 2023 marks the 19th annual Healthy and Safe Swimming Week. During this week, CDC highlights the role that swimmers, caregivers, aquatics and beach staff, residential pool owners, and public health officials play in preventing disease outbreaks, drowning, and pool chemical injuries. This year’s theme — Got Diarrhea? Don’t Swim! — encourages swimmers and caregivers of young swimmers to follow simple steps to prevent diarrheal germs from spreading in the water.

We all share the water we swim, play, or relax in. Protect yourself and those you care about from germs by taking the following steps:

  • Stay out of the water if you are sick with diarrhea. If you have Crypto, don’t go back in the water until 2 weeks after your diarrhea has completely stopped.
  • Don’t poop in the water.
  • Don’t swallow the water. Chlorine kills most germs within minutes, but some poop germs can survive in chlorine for days.
  • Take kids on bathroom breaks and check diapers every hour. Change diapers away from the water to help keep germs out of the water. Wash your hands after.
People swimming 

Healthy and Safe Swimming Week Materials

More Information

Most Read Features

Bed Bug Information

There are important steps that need to be followed once a boil water advisory ends. After the advisory has been lifted, it does not mean that the water is able to be used or drank right away. Please see the checklis...

The charts below represent the preliminary number of accidental overdose deaths in Montgomery County in 2020 as reported by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. These numbers may change when the final cause of de...

Signs and Symptoms The symptoms of measles generally appear about seven to 14 days after a person is infected. Measles typically begins with high fever, cough, runny nose (coryza), and red, watery eyes ( conjunctivi...

Flu Advice from Public Health