Parents claim that significant damage was caused to their daughter's hair as a result of being in the Kfar Maccabiah pool in Ramat Gan during the summer months. The suspicion arose after they noticed that her hair had shortened and become damaged. They realized that the same thing had happened to at least ten other children.
Kfar Maccabiah and the Ministry of Health claim that the water test was done as required and the results obtained were not unusual.
"We were members for three months. My daughter has long hair, she never had a haircut and suddenly, it got shorter," Limor Shemesh, a resident of Ramat Gan, told Walla about her eight-year-old daughter. "It all started to get shorter and shorter every day until we noticed that it was really short. Her self-image is damaged, she cries and asks why she no longer has long hair.
"I met with mothers in kindergartens and circles and they have repeated the same story, one right after the other. This didn't happen before; we've been a member since she was born and it never happened in her life."
"The CEO of Kfar Maccabiah called and told me that no change had been made in the chlorine levels and that I could come and check," she continued. "I'm not a professional, I don't have the tools to test it. I asked if they had changed the material and she said no."
Shemesh is considering filing a class action lawsuit with other parents. "I gathered several mothers and we are going to a lawyer. I don't want to come out with accusations, but something is wrong there."
More complaints about the same situation
Dvorit Ben Moshe encountered similar signs in her 11-year-old daughter. "My daughter went there four times a week during the summer. I began to notice that her hair had become very dry and shortened as if it had been torn off. I asked her if she cut it or made a ponytail," she said.
"No preparation I've tried so far has helped. I'm frustrated for my child and angry that this is what happened to her. The mornings became very difficult because of my attempt to arrange her hair. I didn't think there could be a connection to the pool until I saw other mothers talking about the same thing. More tests need to be done; it's happened to a lot of my friends' daughters."
"No preparation I've tried so far has helped. I'm frustrated for my child and angry that this is what happened to her."
Dvorit Ben Moshe told Walla!
According to experts on the matter, the appearance of the hair can change slightly and dry out as a result of prolonged exposure to chemicals and anti-bacteria found in pools, but phenomena such as thinning and significant shortening are unusual.
Phenomena of this kind also describe Daria Salomon, mother of an eight-year-old girl. "We've been a member for a long time. In the summer, we renewed our membership and in August the change began. I didn't even notice it – and suddenly, my son asked her, 'Where's all your hair?'
"Then I realized that with each overlap, it became more and more difficult to comb it and serious fallout began," she explained. "The hair that reached her waist shortened to the shoulder and its ends became like the hair of a doll: you can crumble them with your hand. My daughter gets offended and cries when you talk to her about it. It's sad."
The possibility that the damage was related to the pool only arose when she met Limor, her friend from the neighborhood. "I asked if she told her daughter because I saw that her hair was shorter and she said 'no, it's from the pool.' My eyes opened. Suddenly, other mothers said the same thing."
Noga Cohen-Yasinki's daughter went to the pool for four months, starting in June. "After a month, I felt that suddenly her hair had become like dreadlocks and broke. She had long hair that reached past her elbows and is now at her shoulders. It was really short. My hair is not what it used to be either. Something happened," she said.
After the incident, she saw a post in the Facebook group of Ramat Gan residents that talked about a similar incident. "I have someone I buy hair products from and I asked him about it: He recommended an anti-chlorine product that didn't help."
Kfar Maccabiah and Health Ministry respond
Kfar Maccabiah responded that "the Kfar Maccabiah Sports Center performs tests according to the Health Ministry guidelines every three hours. In addition, during the summer months, tests are performed twice a month through an external company and the tests are transferred to the Health Ministry. All tests were found to be completely normal. We continue to maintain high standards and strictly adhere to the Health Ministry's procedures."
The ministry said that "no complaints have been received on the matter. It should be noted that during the summer months, an audit was conducted in the said pool and no abnormal results were received in the water samples."