I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to go jump in Smith Lake with my boys and have some fun.”ADEM Water Quality Specialist Chris Johnson
CULLMAN – Almost like clockwork, the warm weather leading into the summer season brings the annual controversy over the cleanliness and safety of swimming in Lewis Smith Lake. But, is the lake a true cause of concern?
Parents and some pediatricians routinely look to the lake as the cause of cases of impetigo that surface every year. Impetigo, a bacterial skin infection, is most common in children and is caused by streptococcus (strep) or staphylococcus (staph) bacteria, making it highly contagious.
Last summer, local mom Courtney Glasco took her family to Smith Lake for the July 4th holiday. She said, “We went camping at Smith lake for the 4th of July last year and we went swimming in the lake the day of the 4th at the bank of the water. I would not let them go out too far, but they played in the water for a few hours then after they got showers. The next morning on the 5th is when my son started breaking out in sores. He had one start at his nose and then they came up on his arms, legs, back, feet, everywhere. I started cleaning them and putting medicine cream on them until I could take him to the doctor.”
Her son, Kaden, was seen by a nurse practitioner at a local pediatrician’s office where “she put Kaden on some medicine cream for the impetigo sores. It took a few weeks for him to get better. We had to keep everything he touched clean and wash his bed clothes a lot. He was in pain because we had to keep the sores clean and medicated. He would just cry because they hurt and if he had to wear clothes for anything he would cry because it hurt for anything to touch it. He has scars from some of the sores.”
Usually diagnosed by sight based on the appearance of the rash, impetigo is usually treated with medicated ointment. The rash commonly appears around the nose, mouth, hands and arms, but is difficult to keep from spreading to other parts of the body. Affected areas are sometimes recommended to keep covered to prevent scratching which could lead to infection.
Folks are urged to rethink blaming Smith Lake for the definite cause of impetigo cases as pinpointing a source of the staph or strep bacteria which can lead to impetigo can be nearly impossible according to Alabama Department of Environmental Management Water Quality Specialist Chris Johnson.
“You can get staph anywhere. You can get staph in a public restroom or on a wrestling mat or in a gym or in a locker room. You can literally get staph anywhere.
“Smith Lake, relative to a lot of our lakes, is a very clean lake. It has relatively no point sources on it. It’s just an unlikely candidate for the cause of staph. I’m not going to say it’s not a possible cause, but based on a lot of our E. coli testing on our lakes, especially on the open area waters where it gets a lot of sunlight, the UV rays from the sun really keep bacteria levels at bay.
I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to go jump in Smith Lake with my boys and have some fun. If kids have a cut or a scrape or something on them, you might want to be cognizant of that and have them either cover it up, or when they get done, put some antibiotic ointment or something on it just in case.”
Showering after a swim when a child has an open sore is always recommended to keep the area clean. Parents are urged to keep an eye on those areas where the skin has injuries such as bug bites, eczema, scrapes, cuts or rashes like poison oak or ivy whether or not their child swims in lakes since staph bacteria is found on so many surfaces.
Parents should not hesitate to contact their child’s pediatrician with any concerns they may have about possible bacterial infections.
