Yes, you read the title correctly. I believe that the fear of public pools is completely rational, or perhaps I just tell myself that to make myself feel less weird. Anyway, if you feel the same way I do, know that you are not alone!

When I was younger, my family and I would often take trips and vacations where we would stay in hotels. As a child, one of the great things about staying in a hotel was the swimming pool and hot tub access. Before we even set eyes on the hotel, I would dream about finally arriving and putting on my swimsuit in eager anticipation of getting to swim. I would double check that we had plenty of swim toys packed along in our suitcases, my favorite being a fabric-covered squishy ball to throw around.

Not only did I get excited to swim when going to a hotel, but I was also excited when going to a waterpark. My family and I have been to White Water in Branson, the famous Oceans of Fun in Kansas City, and Schlitterbahn in Kansas City, as well. If I remember correctly, I didn't have any problems with swimming in public pools when I was younger; it was only in the past few years that I have become increasingly aware of how dirty and full of germs those public pools actually are. What sparked the sudden awareness of public pool cleanliness? It all happened one day when my family and I took a trip to Schlitterbahn.

It was a perfectly hot day for a trip to the waterpark. My family and I had never been to Schlitterbahn before, so we were extremely excited to get wet and start exploring. We made sure to apply sunscreen and use the restroom before beginning our day of fun. As soon as we were completely ready, we rushed to the water, grabbed some tubes, and began our float around the waterpark. We road several waterslides, relaxed on the shallow slope resembling a beach, ate some snacks, and went back to floating around the whole attraction. It was such fun! We all decided it was time to try out the wave canal. It was a ton of fun, but it was then that my sudden fear of public pools sprouted.

It wasn't the big waves that brought on my fear, it was what I ran into in the wave canal that jolted my fear. A band-aid! A lonely, floating, human-less band-aid is what I felt beneath the water. My legs and feet have always been very sensitive, and to feel that band-aid brush against my skin was my worst nightmare. All I could think about what the fact that something touched me that wasn't water. I didn't know what it was. It was a foreign object; I feel I had every right to be frightened about what had touched my leg.

Now, a harmless Band-Aid floating in the water isn't the end of the world, but it certainly is gross! It got me thinking about all the other foreign substances that could be floating in the water unnoticed. Well, unnoticed until some little girl feels it brush against her leg changing her whole viewpoint on public pools. Yuck!

I am not afraid of band-aids. However, I am afraid of all the possibilities of foreign bodies and germs that could be occupying our public pools ready to make an escape on some child's innocent body after having a fun day swimming at the local neighborhood pool. Oh yes, neighborhood pools are also included in this list. In some ways, neighborhood pools are even scarier. They have these pockets in the walls to filter out the water and I am often afraid that my long hair will get caught in there. No, thank you!

People of all ages swim in these pools. You never know when dried skin will flake off, or when someone will go underwater and blow bubbles, and boogers, out of their nose. On top of that, I'm sure we have all accidently swallowed some pool water at some point. Think about that! Disgusting! While I'm on the subject of 'EW!' the public restrooms or locker rooms are also a frightful sight! You never know what you'll find in there; clumps of hair on the floor, unflushed toilets, clogged toilets even, maybe more band-aids laying around!

Now, I'm not trying to scare you away from waterparks or public pools, I am simply making you aware of all the unseen dangers you could potentially run into at the pool. Swim at your own risk!