Baby swim nappies 'like a poo tea bag in water'

Trying to keep your child’s poo out of the pool is a no brainer, but health experts say baby swim pants are no better than regular nappies.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Biochemistry specialist Professor Una Ryan said swim nappies do stop poo rom floating, however, they acted “like a poo tea bag in water”.

“They don’t work, they don’t work at all — they may be a bit better than a regular nappy, but they release faecal matter into the pool,” he said.

The claims come after an outbreak of cryptosporidium was reported at a Sydney pool last week.

Cryptosporidiosis is a diarrhoeal disease caused by the parasite, Cryptosporidium, which infects the intestine.

The Daily Telegraph reports: “In the first three weeks of January there were 109 cases of cryptosporidiosis in NSW compared with 54 for the same period in 2016.”

Symptoms, according to NSW Health

• The most common symptom of cryptosporidiosis are watery diarrhoea and stomach cramps. Other symptoms may include fever, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. Some people with the infection have no symptoms at all.
• The first signs of illness appear between 1-12 days (average 7 days) after a person becomes infected.
• Symptoms may come and go and may last days to weeks. People with a weak immune system may have more severe symptoms that can last for months.

How is it spread?

• Cryptosporidium is present in the faeces matter of infected humans and animals. Infection occurs when the parasite is ingested. Transmission most often occurs through:  
• Person-to-person contact, particularly in families and among small children (for example, in child care centres)
• Drinking contaminated water
• Swimming in contaminated pools
• Handling infected animals or their manure
• Food (in rare cases).