Can Pool Shock cause chemical burns

[Lyonesse]

Hello, I am brand new to this site. I am here because I am very concerned about my daughter.

She came home from our neighbors house and has rashes or chemical burns (I've never seen chemical burns so I'm not sure which) along her neck and chest where her swimsuit sits, also some rash/scabby area around her breasts, and on her lady parts. I got her in a bath this evening and she is crying that it hurts where these rashes are.

Our neighbors have had their pool for about 3 years, this year I think they took what they consider a shortcut to clean their pool for the summer. After asking them some questions about their pool, I found out that as a shortcut they've only been using a shock treatment from Home Depot. She said that this shock treatment takes the place of having to add any other chemicals. She does not have any chlorine or anything else in the pool.
Anyway, I'm just wondering if this shock can cause rashes or chemical burns?


Their pool is a 15x48 summer escapes metal frame pool.
No chemicals.
No testing that I know of.
I believe this is the same well water they filled it with 3 years ago. They just let the pool freeze over in winter and clean it out for summer.
The kids went swimming today for 3 hours and got out because of rash.


We just got our first pool 3 weeks ago and our chlorine and ph are in ideal range. Didn't know about testing for other things, so glad I found this site!

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP.

With so little information, it is difficult to say. Still, chemical burns sound very unlikely. Once something is dissolved into the water and mixed throughout the pool it is almost impossible for people to get chemical burns from it. Far more likely is some kind of rash resulting from a biological agent, most likely a bacteria.

 

[Smykowski]

Welcome to the site!

That situation sounds to me like irritation from a dirty pool, likely either a sensitivity to chloramines or to a pH that's too far out of normal.

 

[poolnew-b]

I have neighborhood kids and our kids friends in our pool all the time, I would feel so ashamed if they started getting funky rashes. I hope they start keeping up on there pool better.
I always run a full set of test before the kids get in.

 

[Lyonesse]

Thank you for the information. From what I gather, a shock treatment isn't a substitute for chlorine tabs and ph, is that right? If their well water is like ours then it has a very low ph before adding chemicals. I'll take my crappy test kit over and check her chlorine and ph levels and see where they're at then maybe gently suggest she use something more than just a shock treatment, hopefully we wont end up dueling neighbors haha.

 

[chiefwej]

There are several different chemicals that are labeled as "Pool Shock". Without more information its hard to tell what they are putting in the pool.

 

[chem geek]

See this link for distinguishing between a chemical reaction vs. a bacterial infection. Given how quickly the symptoms occurred (sounds like < 24 hours), this sounds more like a chemical problem. It could be low pH or it might be a chemical in the pool but it's hard to know without knowing what they've been adding.

 

[zea3]

If your neighbor is using a chlorine based "shock", it will sanitize the water if it is used in the correct amounts for that pool. However, there is more to balancing the water than sanitation. There is no one step, does everything product for pool care on the market. If you can find out exactly what your neighbor has been using and post it here we can tell you more about that product and how it is supposed to be used.

The most important thing you can do for your family to have a happy, healthy experience with your new pool is to learn about water chemistry and balancing your pool. Read through Pool School, especially the section ABCs of pool water chemistry for more information.

Feel free to ask us anything about pool care. We are here to help!

 

[harleysilo]

I don't think my kids would be swimming again in that pool. I would want to know exactly what they were using just to have closure for the underlying issue so it can be avoided.

Now that you realize the importance of maintaining proper water balance, why don't you stick around. Testing and managing water is very easy given the right tools, and background knowledge to apply results to chemical additions is easy to obtain in Pool School.