FEATURE healthy BY DANIEL BOWMAN Registered Sanitarian, Allentown Health Bureau C hlorine kills everything instantly! At least this is what I was led to believe as a kid. My two sisters and I were encouraged to jump into the pool immediately after using that dreaded public restroom. Before I started working in public health this is what I believed. Those waters could wash away a multitude of sins. Now I know better. I spent many years of my life blissfully ignorant to what really goes on in the pool. I believe that many people suffer from this same ignorance. From diarrhea to skin rashes, recreational water illnesses (RWIs) come in many varieties. 14 Lehigh County Health & Medicine | SUMMER 2019