In light of increasing E. coli outbreaks at public pools attributable to infants and toddlers,many pools are choosing to refuse access to non-toilet trained children. And this includes therapeutic pools. So what can the pediatric therapist do? A number of manufacturers are now offering disposable "swim diapers," which claim to effectively retain fecal material under typical pool use conditions. A group of researchers out of the University of North Carolina (Asheville, N.C.) decided to test the claim. They examined the solids retention effectiveness of three major brands of swim diapers as well as of conventional disposable diapers, under simulated water play conditions. 
Ever seen the mother playing with her toddler in the pool?
She pulls her precious kidlet out of the pool, proceeds to
strip down his diaper, pool-side, then (as if that isn't distasteful enough) makes use of a nearby water source (read: the pool) to dip-wash the offending diaper.
Swim diapers of all three brands exhibited an approximately equal fine-solids retention capability of about 98 to 99 percent over 30 minutes of water immersion activity.
Conventional disposable diapers invariably fell down or came apart during the experiments, resulting in very limited solids retention.
Their study indicates that commercially available swim diapers represent a vast improvement in reducing the potential for fecal material release in public pool facilities, but that some release will still generally occur with these products.
SOURCE:
Maas, RP, Patch SC, Berkowitz JF, Johnson HD.Determination of the solids retainment effectiveness of disposable swim diapers. J Environ Health. 2004; 66(10): 16-20, 28.
Recent Comments