sarno (04/11/83)
Many of my friends and I swim daily. But yesterday I heard something that I hope is not true. I was told that it may be possible to catch herpes from a pool (and especially a hot tub). Does anyone know for sure about this? (Especially the Red Bank pool, which is where we all swim, and it is quite dirty, and over heated). If it IS possible to catch herpes via water, then I think many of us will be buying new running equipment soon! We are anxiously awaiting any info.. Thanks.
dyer (04/12/83)
I believe that the "hot tub" bug which has been recently reported in such established medical journals as Time and Rolling Stone is a gram-negative bacterium, Pseudomonas. Apparently, these little buggers breed in the moist interstices of the wood, and can cause rather nasty skin infections when they are let loose into the water. A vinyl liner for your hot tub is recommended to avoid the problem. Tubless in New England, Steve Dyer
avi (04/13/83)
This note is a follow up to a question on whether you are likely to catch "herpes" from going swimming. My sources indicate that you are not likely to get herpes this way, but that some care must be taken in contact with infected individuals. There are many forms of the herpes (Greek, herpein = creep) virus that have been lumped into a single category. The Herpes Simplex (types 1 and 2) are the ones associated with Venereal disease. At one point they were each associated more with lesions in the upper or lower sections of the body, but this distinction has faded because of an increasing trend of having "nonstandard" sex. Close person-to-person contact is the most common method of transmission. Usually it is passed only when mucous membranes (such as the inner mouth, genitalia or eyes) touch. It can also be passed in secretions from the above sources. The virus is not viable outside a living organism. It is transmissible on eating utensils for a BRIEF period after contamination. The conditions in a swimming pool or hot-tub are not conducive to keeping the virus in an infectious mode. It must be emphasized that most herpes sufferers are only occasionally contagious because the virus spends much of its time hiding in the nerve sheaths where the bodies normal defense mechanisms can't get at it. Just in case you are curious, I have avoided getting this obnoxious disease, but I listened carefully when we were taught about this subject. There is no known "cure" for it as there is for Syphilis or Gonhorrea, so it is wiser to be safe than sorry. Avi E. Gross (....!houxm!hogpc!hogpd!avi) P.S. A question has been debated in another newsgroup about whether men ask women if they are using some form of birth control before they go to bed. I wonder how many people ask their partner whether they are likely to catch a communicable disease. It is not very easy to examine them to find out, and you would have to give a woman half of a pelvic exam - and still not be sure. None of this is likely to be very romantic.
fmc (04/13/83)
Chlorine in pools may well kill the virus, but what about people who swim in natural, non-chlorinated lakes? Are they in danger of catching herpes if the people swimming next to them have it? I have observed that many people spit into the swimming area. That is a possible method of transmission? I wish I knew.
lynn (04/13/83)
A note of passing(?) interest on using vinyl liners...
That won't help, from experience I know you can develop nasty
infections from uh.."fooling around" in a hot tub, wood or plastic.
Even though the water appears clean the warmth and natural bacteria
are multiplying...save it for later
lynn