I have never heard of anyone getting hives from it but you damn sure can get poison ivy especially if you need to go at night without a flashlight and forget the toilet paper.
I have no problem peeing in the woods but I’ve always been jealous of how much quicker, easier, and more efficient the process is for men. The world is their toilet.
I was able to keep my head above water the entire time I was swimming. However, after swimming 5 laps, I was breathing hard enough that I had to open my mouth to breathe, and water was starting to get in.
Honestly, “just” the urine itself wasn’t so much what bothered me as the other disgusting stuff you’re talking about. Cryptosporidium being the main thing. I talked about urine in my OP because it felt like a good starting point, and we could move on from there … and people certainly did!
And it’s not just the urine.
I am probably going to visit a few local gyms (Bally’s, LA Fitness, 24-hour Fitness) and see how their pools look. If I can find a clean one, I’ll sign up there and try to swim regularly. It’s good exercise. I found out recently that I have a syndrome which makes running and other exercise especially hard on my body, so I need to find forms of exercise like swimming.
If you go there, and the pool water is cloudy, warm (~ body temperature), greenish, purple, or the chlorine scent stings your eyes – avoid that pool. They’re not doing a good job with their pool chemicals.