6 die from brain-eating amoeba

[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).

[GrinS]

^

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.

[GrinS]

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.

[GrinS]

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.

[WeedyBoyWonder]

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.

[audioaddict04]

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.

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.

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!!!

[Comatose]

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.

[ceecee79]

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.

[Ganj]

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.

[Comatose]

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.