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A story I saw on msn............
6 die from brain-eating amoeba in Phoenix lake waters -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
I'm just thinking how we (my family) used to go swimming in lakes all the time when I was younger, and although they state this is a very rare thing to get, I don't think I would swim in a lake again. Or allow my daughter to either.
I grew up in Florida and me and my friend would always swim in lakes..we knew about the amoebas, also knew about the alligators..so we figured we would just make sure that our heads never went in the water and we always had a kbar in our hands or teeth as we would swim across these lakes..it was a blast.
I read this today too and it definitely creeps me out. It's a good thing it's so rare, but I still think I will be reluctant from now on to swim in a lake.
You can't seriously consider not swimming in lakes anymore because of this. If small incidents, such as this, inspire that much fear in you then you might as well become a recluse.
I'm not trying to be a dick (despite the evidence to the contrary) but that is incredibly irrational.
thats so screwed up, but its so rare, the statistics are defiantly in your favor to not get this, im not looking this shit up, but i guarantee its like 100x more likely to die in a car crash, cancer, or hell probley more likely to die from forgetting to breath(this shit happens like 50 ppl a year or something i read.)
Talk to me when they discover the antigen to ward off the villainous amoeba. And also, one stranger's irrationality should not be enough to inspire that much concern.Quote:
Originally Posted by audioaddict04
I think parents give their kids too many vaccines and antibiotics, and worry about things like amoebas in lakes... Being a worry wart like this actually makes your kid more prone to disease and injury. Don't raise a living bubble boy....
Sorry if this is short, but if you are seriously keeping your kid from a lake because of AN AMEOBA.... come on. More people did from shark attacks every year, run from the ocean. There are car accidents, stay out of the cars, children! Listen to yourself here people.
That is nonsense. I have been cautious my entire life and I have not been plagued by the handicap of a broken bone, nor have I encountered any serious illness...Cars are too important to simply avoid but their engineering is practically a death-sentence too. I'm listening but it seems you're ignoring the call of innovation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Comatose
See you at the lake!Quote:
Originally Posted by Comatose
On second thought, I think I'll brave the rip current, off the Virginia coast.
I most defiantly agree with you mate. Living a smart safe life only enhances ones life. I do however think we shouldn't go around telling kids these types of incidences for that only causes a fear of something they could never truly begin to understand. We just advise them to wear nose clips for safety purposes. Bubble boy.....hmm thats a tad bit extreme wouldn't you say?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ganj
I agree. An irrational fear would be to avoid all water, just because a few cases occurred, where water is a harboring ground for potentially fatal microorganisms. Nose clips? That is interesting...I grew up advised to wash my hands and look both ways before crossing a street. The times are changing for sure. And I say keep your kids informed! They will learn all about in their biology class anyway (hopefully).
^
thats complete non-sense, u must be inside all day on the computer smoking weed. its totally distorted your perception on the whole matter of saftey. if you're actually saying to avoid lakes cause of the 23 people that died from this in the USA within the past 9 years, that averages out to 2.5 ppl die a year from this amoeba, not only is that soooooo rare but u might as well avoid stairs/rocks/gravel/elevators/cars/food/and tens of millions of other things that kill way more ppl on a annual basis. I for one will be playing in a lake/river/stream if it seems like fun. Thats life... and this.... this is wallgreens.
and about keepin ur kids informed about something like amoeba, would only hurt them not help... it would just make them worry bugs and scare them indoors for the rest of their life.
However, things like working/playing safely doesnt get included in what to tell your kids, like DONT run/horse play on play structures and sadly thats the only example i could think of, but of course theres a thousand that my mother/father told me when i was little that i made sure i played safe also while having fun.
I read about that in the NOTW today, rough! I tiny bug that slowly eats your brain... If you start to get headaches, feel dizzy and drowsy, just make sure nothing is muching on your brain.
I'm not concerned so much as surprised at the stupidity of the people posting. I find it silly when people pick and choose these stupid things to live in fear of.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ganj
It's already been said but people die far more often doing common everyday things yet they don't avoid those situations.
More people die being mauled by dogs going for a walk, but I'm quite sure that doesn't stop you from leaving your house.
All I'm saying is that you can't let fear control you or your actions....ESPECIALLY FEAR OF AN INCREDIBLY RARE AMOEBA!!!
I guess I was a little rash on what I said early, but seriously, the ridicule your kid will go through looking rediculous at the lake will be worse than the chance of the amoeba.
I grew up on a lake and practically lived on the beach in the summer. I guess the thought of not having a swim at the lake because of a RARE micro-organism just seems... Over-precautious.
As I said, I know it is very rare. But I just feel there are many other places to swim besides a lake, like in clean swimming pools, where I would not have to worry about it at all. I am not making my daughter a recluse or "bubble girl" or anything, but there are other alternatives. She knows not to ingest any water she swims in. As we all know e. coli can be found in some pools, along with other things I am sure. This story just freaked me out, because of what happens to the body when you get it, and how there is no cure. The man in the story said his other kids would not swim in the lake again, and I don't think he was being irrational. If he were going by "odds" the odds would certainly be against 2 of his children getting infected with this amoeba and dying, but why take that chance?
Take chances in poker, lol.
This particular type of amoeba travels in the water, up the nose and latches onto the olfactory lobe in the brain. It is there, where the amoeba begins feeding on human brain-cells, undetected. By the time you realize there is something wrong; it is too late. I understand the over-protective measures one would go through to protect someone from a rare fate-such as having your brain eaten by an undetectable microorganism-like equipping a swimmer with nose clips to obstruct the parasites pathway to the brain. I'm not here to say the wearer of this nose clip would be ridiculed and humiliated for seeming like a nerd but even if that is the case, you're telling me that humiliation is of greater concern than health, which is absurd. At some point in time in a child's life, they have to realize that what other people think of them is their problem, and not something to worry about. On the other hand, a brain-eating parasite-no matter how rare-is something, if not to lose sleep over, at least should be considered before swimming in a nearby lake.
I bet I can google over a thousand crazy things that kill 2.5 people per year that you, your kids, and everyone else does daily. Should your child quit doing all of these things because of a few random crazy accidents that happen per year? No.
So an ameoba eating your brain is crazy... and tragic. But it happens so rarely, you shouldn't care about that. You should be worried about the hundreds of thousands of children that are abused via the internet every year because of pedofiles. You say bet on poker? Well the odds are 1/4 that your baby girl has met a complete stranger via the internet. The odds of her contracting this crazy brain eating ameoba is 23/EARTHS POPULATION. Please don't ever sit down at a poker table. (Internet Safety: Internet predators)
Alright, so "bubble girl" was rash, but come on.... If this thread is still going later, I promise I'm going to find statistics about sudden tragic deaths... Please don't make me do this... For the safety of the children, lol.
My daughter is only 8, and anytime she uses the internet she is supervised. I think I will always supervise her on the internet, even when she is older. I watch Dateline, and am aware of how many pedophiles there are here, and not only on the internet.
I will probably be an "overprotective" mother, because in my view, it is better than not being protective enough. I know the type of things I did, especially in my teenage years, and am grateful that nothing worse happened to me than what did. If the internet were as widespread as it is now, I probably would have been one to at least have met someone online, but if offered a plane ticket somewhere at 16--I would have jumped on that, and God only knows what would have happend. I have ran away from home before, with a friend, and we were out for several days before "caught". We used to get in cars with people we did not know. I met people from chat lines (telephone). You don't have to tell me what can happen to young girls in that sense.
I am also aware of rare medical conditions and freak accidents. I know there are many things that can kill people. You don't have to look up any statistics for my benefit, you see this type of thing everyday on the news.
I never said this was a common thing. It is not my fear that it happens often that would prevent me from allowing my child to swim in a lake. She has never swam in a lake so far, so it is not anything she would miss. I'm saying I think there are alternatives, and I would choose those 1st, that's all.
And I am very good at poker and calculating my odds there ;)
i have a 12 year old daughter , i hope to god my x-wife doesnt see this. my home town is quite in the woods, my daughter and I used to hike all the time until the local paper ran an article about rattlesnakes in the woods. ive known that for many years and even seen a few but after my x found out we had to keep our hikes secret from her. also im 37 yrs old and in all my life not one single person has been bitten . we all know there are many dangers in the world but the only thing you should fear is fear itself.
:eek:...no way! I've been swimming in lakes since I was a kid. I wish I would've never seen this. I have a headache now:(
It is s funny to see peopleā??s reaction to things like this. I remember when I lived in DC, Some guy was running from a cop in the wood and he cut him self on the arm. A week later his arm got infected. Comes to fine out that got some flesh eating bacteria and lost the arm. Every one freaked out and no one went to any park or wooed areas all year. Calm down people. You have a better change of getting hit by a car twice while getting struck by lighting while doing a back flip. Donā??t live you life in fear of some fluke shit. If that was the case then no would ever do any thing ever because of the news.
Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of swimming?Quote:
Originally Posted by geonagual
This is the reason why I don't go swimming.
This is why i swim in the river, only thing i gotta worry about is snakes, gars, shit, piss & 2 million different things. On 2nd thought, i think i'll be getting a swimming pool next summer.