Playing in dirty flood water: Foolish or extremely foolish?

 

IT CAN be difficult to resist the urge to go for a swim when the entire town on rare occasions becomes a veritable swimming pool. But swimming pool it is not. 

Sewage, garbage and dirt from the streets, rod and walkways intermingle into the water, making it the perfect place for people to swim in should they be looking to cultivate skin diseases.

This is exactly why experts advise the common people not to bathe in the flood water. But does that stop them from doing it? Apparently not as shown in a video post on X by netizen Ikhwan.

The video captured a festival-like atmosphere during the flood in an unknown location, where children could be seen swimming in the flooded streets while their parents watched on.

Ikhwan added that it was extremely foolish for the parents who brought their kids out to play with the flood water. His thoughts were echoed by many others in the online community.

Netizen bee said that everytime people played in flood water, she could imagine the water mixing with water from the toilet, urine, human and animal feces, drain water and refuse from the garbage.  

She wondered how people could dip their heads in it.

However, nauzdi said it was not a problem, that playing in the flood had been some of his best childhood. During those times, he would also catch fishes in the ditch such as the Puyu, Keli and Haruan.

Another netizen said foolish people should not make children.

“At times, even we who have no children have to face the behaviour of these kids that pisses us off,” said Shine Taki.

Ree Zha showed a photo which captured a scene similar to the video shared by Ikhwan, stating that the kids were playing as though they were in a theme park.

“Perhaps this is what they mean about using the flood to become a tourist attraction,” said Ree Zha.

To press home the point, Ikhwan helpfully added an infographic highlighting the dangers of flood water, hygiene being of prime concern.

According to the illustration, diseases brought by the water during the flooding season includes Typhoid, food poisoning, dysentery, cholera and even Hepatitis A.

As for us, we like to find a silver lining among the clouds. Looking at the list of dangerous diseases, we do believe playing in the flood is a good way to improve one’s immune system. And no, you didn’t hear it from us.—Focus Malaysia