BMJ  2003;327 (23 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7412.0

Swimming pools provide health benefits

Swimming pools in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia decrease skin infections and ear disease and improve children's quality of life. Lehmann and colleagues (p 415) assessed the prevalence of pyoderma ("skin sores") and perforations of the tympanic membrane in young people (aged under 17) before and after swimming pools were opened in two remote Aboriginal communities. Pyoderma, tympanic membrane perforation, and skin infections decreased by up to 50% after the swimming pools were introduced. Children's school attendance also improved because of a "no school, no pool" policy. Indigenous Australian children have high rates of pyoderma, which can lead to chronic renal disease and rheumatic heart disease. The authors say that swimming in a salt water pool provides the equivalent of a nasal and ear washout and cleans the skin.

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Relevant Article

Benefits of swimming pools in two remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia: intervention study

Deborah Lehmann, Mary T Tennant, Desiree T Silva, Daniel McAullay, Francis Lannigan, Harvey Coates, and Fiona J Stanley
BMJ 2003 327: 415-419. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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