DALLAS — We're back, answering three more of your questions about the coronavirus with the help of public health expert, Dr. John Carlo.
SWIMMING POOLS
First question comes from Mary Louise Cadigan. She asks this: Can you verify a chlorine treated pool is safe to enjoy?
“A well chlorinated pool will prevent a lot of different things from transmitting to other people,” Dr. Carlo said. “We know for a fact, things like diarrheal illnesses or skin infection, things like that, can be prevented by chlorine,” he added.
The Centers for Disease Control says this:
There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of pools, hot tubs or spas, or water playgrounds. Proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection (e.g., with chlorine and bromine) of pools, hot tubs or spas, and water playgrounds should inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.
So, will pool water be safe from coronavirus? Yes
BEARDS
Next. John Braden asks this: Does having facial hair make a person more susceptible to contracting Covid-19?
“The facial hair is not going to make a difference to you, not going to trap ther virus if they're in the air. There's no data that would show anything to that effect,” said Dr. Carlo.
If there’s any confusion on this point it may be that CDC does have a blog post that advises against some types of facial hair when using a respirator mask because it gets in the way of a good seal.
Does facial hair make you susceptible to COVID-19? No.
IBUPROFEN
Last one. Lisa Chandler wants to know: Will ibuprofen or Advil make your symptoms worse if you have Covid-19?
In mid-March, the French health minister tweeted that it could "aggravate" a coronavirus infection.
But three days later the World Health Organization stepped in and tweeted: "WHO does not recommend against the use of ibuprofen." And that's been the official position for over a month.
“They're great medications for reducing fever which is really going to be that symptom that's a really bad symptom for coronavirus infection. We're not recommending stopping taking those medications at all. In fact, they are good medicines to use to lessen fever symptoms,” Dr. Carlo said.
So, does ibuprofen make COVID-19 symptoms worse? No.