This Is Healthy And Safe Swimming Week

114 people drowned in Indiana in 2017.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) – Of the 114 people who died by drowning in Indiana in 2017, most of the deaths occurred in natural bodies of water.

May 21 through 27 is Healthy and Safe Swimming Week.

Now that warmer weather has arrived, the Indiana State Department of Health is urging swimmers to use caution around water. Not just around pools, but also lakes, ponds, rivers, and quarries.

“We all share the water we swim in,” said State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. “Swimmers should take simple steps to protect themselves, their friends and their family from illness and injury when heading to the water this summer.”

Box says children should wear life jackets around natural bodies of water, even if they know how to swim.

The ISDH is also warning of a common illness contracted by swimming in affected water. Each year, Indiana sees an average of 190 cases of cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause a respiratory and gastrointestinal illness that primarily involves watery diarrhea with or without a persistent cough.

The bacteria can survive for days in a chlorinated pool.

Health officials say swimmers should avoid swallowing water when swimming, showering before and after swimming, not urinating in water, staying out of the water within two weeks over experiencing diarrhea, and not changing diapers poolside.

Blue-green algae blooms have also been common in some natural waterways, such as Brookville Lake. Swimmers or animals who come in contact with the toxic algae can become ill.