Brain eating amoeba

[Linzizzlejo]

So, I'm sure many of you have been seeing this brain-eating amoeba sweep the news in the last week, and many of you probably have never even heard of it before. I hadn't heard of it .... until I met my boyfriend. Back in August 2008, his 11 year old sister was swimming in a warm lake in Minnesota. She got very sick right away, had flu-like symptoms and it got progressively worse over the next few days with seizures and ultimately a catatonic state. She died on August 23. His family had NO idea what had happened... ... you can imagine the state of being the family was in.. and still are, especially as the 3 year mark approaches. Well, a couple more kids died last year of it, and that is when they found out that it was Naegleria fowleri, the brain eating amoeba. Now they are doing everything they can, as well as all the other parents who lost their child to this, to raise awareness. A couple more kids died this month from it, one in Florida, one in Virginia. I decided to write about it here... I don't want to panic anyone, but I definitely want to spread awareness about this ugly monster.

If you are going to go swim in freshwater that is 80 degrees or above, please please make sure you and everyone you are with wear nose plugs, or better yet, don't put your head under water. The amoeba enters the nose and then attacks the brain. It thrives in the mud in the lakes, rivers, even hot springs, and that is why kids are more prone to getting it, is because they kick up the silt and put their heads under water. His sister, Hailee, was just learning how to go under water without plugging her nose, and she was so proud of it. Little did she or her family know that that accomplishment was going to take her life

 

[Pikaia]

Oh my gosh! How horrible! I hadn't heard of this! My boyfriend is the science guru and I'm definitely going to mention this to him. So sorry about your boyfriend's sister. That has to be tough. We are going boating this weekend and we always jump off the boat into the lake. Never gave it a second thought. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Linzizzlejo]

Thanks for the kind words Pikaia. Don't get me wrong about them being on shore only, because apparently they can be in the middle of lakes too. Also, another guy in Louisiana died from it in June because he flushed out his sinuses with tap water.

 

[starleomach]

How horrible. i had never heard of this. There is nothing worse than the loss of a child

 

[Jenn]

How awful that a fun day in the lake could turn out so tragically. I have heard of this before, as my family has watched many episodes of Monsters Inside Me, but it just doesn't seem real until it affects someone you know. I'm so sorry for your boyfriend's family's loss, as 3 years probably hasn't made the loss any easier. Thank you for keeping the awareness going.

 

[ticklechin]

I am sorry for your boyfriends family, I watch that show also and it freaks me out that something so innocent can result in death.

 

[Ash]

How far north does this spread? Or is it kind of random and everywhere?

 

[Linzizzlejo]

It is definitely random and everywhere... I have heard of cases in the Middle East and Australia and definitely all over USA. Anywhere where there is 80 F + water I'd be careful

 

[lauralynne]

I'm very sorry for the family's loss. So tragic. Was her cause of death reported to the CDC? I haven't seen anything regarding 2007 in Minnesota. I ask because after you brought this to our attention, I started looking into it further. Every Labor Day, my husband's side of the family goes to Beaver Lake in Arkansas. That is some seriosly scary stuff!

 

[AZChins]

That is very frightening for sure! This is all good to know and I probably will never swim in a stream or lake or river again.

 

[Linzizzlejo]

She is not an official case because they didn't look for the amoeba as a possible COD. But her symptoms matched exactly to all the other kids that died from it. This is the website her mom made:

http://haileegirl.blogspot.com/

and the fb page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hailee-Marie-LaMeyer-Amoeba-Awareness/139274736128236

 

[Linzizzlejo]

Susan, I didn't mean to scare you out of swimming! Millions of people swim and are okay.. just gotta watch the water temps

 

[AZChins]

LOL I don't swim much out here in the desert, but if I did I could guarantee you that any of the water above ground would be well over 80 degrees in the summer! Still, that's just scary and I can just stay out of the water.

 

[Linzizzlejo]

yea, this thing is 99% fatal but 100% preventable!!

 

[Linzizzlejo]

Please help spread the word to all you know... facebook is a great way.. let's stop unneccessary deaths due to just plain not knowing about it!!

 

[Ash]

I have another question! Does the water have to be at a constant 80+ or is it even present in waters that fluctuate in temperature? Also, is it only in lakes/rivers/etc or is it also present in pools and such?

 

[RDZCRanch]

It's a freshwater organism so it will be found in lakes, rivers, etc. Typically you don't have a lot of organisms floating around in pools because of all the chemicals we toss in there to prevent life. It survives best in the soil in shallow water where it stays warmer, but that doesn't mean it can't be kicked up from the dirt and drift out to colder areas to get sucked up someone's nose.

I don't think this is cause for panic as it's very rare. It's just supposed to be a word of caution to the wise. Don't kick up a bunch of dirt and then stick your head under water and don't suck water up your nose when the water is a warmer temperature.

 

[Jenn]

and I've always complained about how cold the water is around here....guess it isn't such a bad thing anymore!

 

[Linzizzlejo]

Tabitha is right..it can be found anywhere in the lake once it's been 80 somewhere. They lie dormant in a cyst i believe its called until it gets warm enough and then the cyst breaks open. So it can be found in a fluctuating temperature body of water I suppose. Definitely did not want to cause any panic, but awareness is crucial...because no swim in the lake is worth being killed.

 

[Ash]

We have a few lakes that we go swimming in, which is why I ask. They've got the zoned off "beach" areas to swim in, and it's normal to kick up silt then dive under, as it's treated like a pool, so it's something I was curious about. Especially with my own munchkin now who will be going there in coming years.