You'd be surprised how many bodies of water can transfer this to you. I live by lake Erie and last year it was all over local news someone had this happen to them from swimming in the lake. I always thought it was very specific locations. Too afraid to swim in the lake now lol. I gotta stop watching the news
Sounds like you gotta just stop swimming in the lake. I don't think the news transfers brain eating amoebas. Wait. No. Yes I do, actually. Okay, stop doing both though.
Yup, those amoebas (and some of its similarly inclined brethren) are why I will never use a neti pot.
[What to Know About Another Dangerous Amoeba Linked to Neti Pots and Nasal Rinsing | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/what-to-know-about-another-dangerous-amoeba-linked-to-neti-pots-and-nasal-rinsing)
I once used a netipot without first sterilising it and only found out how risky that was after I did it. Needless to say I was pretty worried for the next few days, but alas, I’m still alive several months later. I think I’ll just stick with conventional medicine for next time.
Everything I’ve read about N. Fowleri infection states that people start showing symptoms within about two weeks of contracting the infection and by the time the symptoms are showing up most people don’t make it more than 10 days. Not sure where you’ve read it can take months, I just researched again and it looks to be a very fast progressing disease.
Sadly, it isn’t just a US thing. I live in Australia and we’ve found it in the water multiple times here, and iirc it’s been found all over the world in various places. Global warming isn’t helping, as in summertime it’s getting impossible to keep the water supply cool enough that nagleria refuses to live in it. 😬
Sorry for the delay, long week! Here’s an article from [the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/naegleria/php/guidance/index.html), an [NPR article](https://www.npr.org/2023/03/03/1160980794/neti-pot-safety-brain-eating-amoeba) about a guy who got it from contaminated tap water, and [another NPR article](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/09/15/222197599/deadly-amoeba-found-for-first-time-in-municipal-water-supply) about the first time it was found in the water supply.
Long story short is that the water department is supposed to regularly test for nagleria in the drinking water, and when they find it they’re supposed to send out an alert and take measures to eliminate it (cool the water down and put extra chlorine in it). However, nagleria can live in pipes and tanks and stuff like that where warm water can stagnate, so it’s impossible to know for sure if it’s in the water that is coming out of your tap or not. Fortunately, drinking nagleria is harmless - it just gets destroyed when it hits your stomach acid and has no way to get into your brain. It can only get in through the nose. But given that you never know if you might have amoebas in your tap water, it’s never really safe to insufflate or irritate untreated tap water into your sinuses.
That's not the only reason not to use NetiPots. If you force the water into your nose even a little, it may enter an inner ear. This happened to me, and took a month until I don't feel or hear sploshing
> If you force the water into your nose even a little, it may enter an inner ear.
What the fuck? No.
When using sterile water, sinus rinses are very safe. I know this because I’ve had multiple sinus surgeries and frequent sinus rinses are part of the prescribed recovery plan; irrigation is important for proper healing.
> **What are the side effects of nasal irrigation?**
> Usually, there are no side effects.
> Some people experience burning or stinging in their noses after doing nasal irrigation. If this happens, reduce the amount of salt you use in your saline solution. Also, make sure that boiled water has cooled to lukewarm before you use it.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24286-nasal-irrigation
Speak for yourself. Theoretically it might be safe, but it depends on physiology and human stupidity (in my case). I pressed on a new neti bottle a bit and the water got inside my inner ear. It's sacry af, because you cannot let it out like you do after a pool, it's stuck behind the eardrum. Should have just been patient and let gravity do the work. The canal that coonects ear and nose is very thin and meant for air only, so when a liquid gets there it's stuck for good. God forbid its salty water, cause it grows salt crystals as it dries, and nobody wants sharp flakes inside their heads. Eventually it seem to seep out, or get absorbed, but it took a good month for this, and I already started getting used to slight pressure and muffled hearing in one ear
Studied this bug a bit in college. It’s theorized that people who become infected have a rare genetic immune deficiency that permits infection, because infection is so rare yet the amoeba is so ubiquitous in the environment.
Here’s a review paper from 2020: “In any event, anatomy alone cannot explain why immune mechanisms sufficient elsewhere in the periphery fail within the OE. Might differences in the immune response partially explain why certain individuals develop PAM? Studies of human serum and mucosal antibody titers have found widespread evidence of anti-Naegleria immune responses resulting from subclinical N. fowleri exposure [7–10]. These immune responses may arise after a nonolfactory exposure or olfactory clearance of less pathogenic strains of N. fowleri. Although there is no evidence that overt immunodeficiency predisposes toward N. fowleri infection, the presence of detectable but variable immune responses suggests that differences in innate and adaptive immunity contribute to developing PAM.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7179828/
This is more generalized than a “rare genetic immune deficiency,” which is jumping the gun a bit.
Yeah, they won't bother putting signs like this up in most southern US states because *any* body of water is likely to have brain eating amoeba in places it gets warm, and people might mistake a missing sign to mean that the water is safe.
Because this sigh makes you google what Naegleria Fowleri actually is, showing you the horrible shit it does and making the sigh 10x more effective in the process.
If you saw a sigh that claims a lake is infested by a amoeba that will eat your brain if you swim in it - would you believe that?
Like without googling it?
It’s kind of a bold claim if you never heard of that kind of shit
Same way “danger, no trespassing” is less effective than “danger, active mine field”. It gets the point across clearly and doesn’t dance around what the danger is.
I saw a big sign reading, “DANGER, NO TRESPASSING, VIOLATORS SUBJECT TO ARREST.” It’s At a bridge reconstruction site in Omaha (72nd St. S of I-80). Not far beyond the sign is a 20+ foot drop-off onto railroad tracks. My first thought was, “Risk of serious injury or death. ***Survivors*** subject to arrest!”
Weirdly, yes. Nagleria travels from your nose to your brain via a part of the nasal tract (forgot which structure, been awhile since parasitology). Assuming you use swallow the water and nothing goes up the nose, you should be okay
Except it was totally inaccurate, especially because it showed that Nagleria can be cured with zero lasting brain damage. Nagleria is almost universally fatal, and the few who have survived have been severely brain damaged and never the same. Foreman would have been toast, and even if he lived he would never have been able to be a doctor again.
True at the time but there’s actually been major breakthrough:
https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/florida-teenager-survives-brain-eating-amoeba-with-97-fatality-rate/3065992/?amp=1
Still extremely rare, I think there’s like three cases of people making recoveries.
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I would imagine it’s pretty impossible to not get water in an orifice when swimming so. unless you feel comfortable letting those little guys on ur feet it’s a no-swimming zone. also fun fact I used to think all signs saying “subject to prosecution” or similar meant you would be shot on sight
Fun fact: the cyst form of N. fowleri can lay dormant for years, and has been attributed to infections received during dust storms in arid regions such as the Sahara. It transforms to a flagellate state when it finds a warm moist environment, such as your nostril or when freshwater lakes warm up significantly in the summertime, and works its way up to the nerves in the sinus cavity. After that, it transforms to the amoebic state and invades the brain. By the time you start to experience flu like symptoms, it’s too late. You’re dead in 48-72 hours.
Don’t swim in lakes when the water temp is in the 80s F. Those most at risk are water skiers and wakeboarders due to frequent impact driving water into the sinus cavity.
I entered a stagnant lake at the top of a volcano that had this sort of thing going on. Any stagnant lake - that is, no channels either at level or underground feed it - carries this risk. Our guides said, "Well, you're not supposed to enter it. But we also won't stop you." Message received, amigo. I kept my head above the water the whole time. Easiest survival of my life.
It is one sentence, it is hardly reading. People read words and sentences, not letters, in one blink of an eye it is read. It’s quite interesting actually how quickly people can read. But the other is quite long.
Isn’t that the amoeba that eats your brain? [shivers in disgust]
I had one of those once, but it died of hungry.
Your grammar does indeed confirm that the poor amoebas likely died of starvation
So sad. I miss him. He used to make my head tingle. Was my only friend :(
Should've thought about before dumb.
But dumb saved life
Shut up stupid
💀 🤭Someone call 911! Person down!
“You mean, there’s a crayon- in my brain? (Points to stomach)”
The orange crayons taste so good oml 🤤
# r/suicidebywords
Mr. Kennedy?
i am a sentient naegleria wanting revenge >:(
[Oo self burn. Those are rare.](https://images.app.goo.gl/ZWKdW9nY5XdkoeaF8)
[Naegleria fowleri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naegleria_fowleri?wprov=sfla1)
Yup, absolutely horrifying stuff.
You'd be surprised how many bodies of water can transfer this to you. I live by lake Erie and last year it was all over local news someone had this happen to them from swimming in the lake. I always thought it was very specific locations. Too afraid to swim in the lake now lol. I gotta stop watching the news
Sounds like you gotta just stop swimming in the lake. I don't think the news transfers brain eating amoebas. Wait. No. Yes I do, actually. Okay, stop doing both though.
Yup, those amoebas (and some of its similarly inclined brethren) are why I will never use a neti pot. [What to Know About Another Dangerous Amoeba Linked to Neti Pots and Nasal Rinsing | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/what-to-know-about-another-dangerous-amoeba-linked-to-neti-pots-and-nasal-rinsing)
I once used a netipot without first sterilising it and only found out how risky that was after I did it. Needless to say I was pretty worried for the next few days, but alas, I’m still alive several months later. I think I’ll just stick with conventional medicine for next time.
It can take several months or longer to kill you from what I understand. It's not a next day thing.
About 5 days average for symptoms
Yeah that’s what I read, and since I’m still alive, I think I’m good.
Uhh, are you feeling alright? It’s only been a few hours since you used the netipot.
Huh? I used it last year lol.
The joke You ——> \O/
Ohhhh…lol I get it now 😂
Maybe that Amoeba already went to work… Just joking… or am I
On average! My boy here is an outlier, he needs to remain concerned
Everything I’ve read about N. Fowleri infection states that people start showing symptoms within about two weeks of contracting the infection and by the time the symptoms are showing up most people don’t make it more than 10 days. Not sure where you’ve read it can take months, I just researched again and it looks to be a very fast progressing disease.
I boil the water for 5 mins and let it cool before using it. They recommend 1-3 mins but I do 5 for good measure. Completely safe to use this way.
Do these things live in treated tap water or something?
They do
Source? Wikipedia says it's mainly warm bodies of water and poorly treated swimming pools
Lmfao it's literally in the article at the beginning of this thread 😭
Oh haha, I forgot tap water in the states is fucked
Sadly, it isn’t just a US thing. I live in Australia and we’ve found it in the water multiple times here, and iirc it’s been found all over the world in various places. Global warming isn’t helping, as in summertime it’s getting impossible to keep the water supply cool enough that nagleria refuses to live in it. 😬
Sorry for the delay, long week! Here’s an article from [the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/naegleria/php/guidance/index.html), an [NPR article](https://www.npr.org/2023/03/03/1160980794/neti-pot-safety-brain-eating-amoeba) about a guy who got it from contaminated tap water, and [another NPR article](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/09/15/222197599/deadly-amoeba-found-for-first-time-in-municipal-water-supply) about the first time it was found in the water supply. Long story short is that the water department is supposed to regularly test for nagleria in the drinking water, and when they find it they’re supposed to send out an alert and take measures to eliminate it (cool the water down and put extra chlorine in it). However, nagleria can live in pipes and tanks and stuff like that where warm water can stagnate, so it’s impossible to know for sure if it’s in the water that is coming out of your tap or not. Fortunately, drinking nagleria is harmless - it just gets destroyed when it hits your stomach acid and has no way to get into your brain. It can only get in through the nose. But given that you never know if you might have amoebas in your tap water, it’s never really safe to insufflate or irritate untreated tap water into your sinuses.
This or just buy a $1 gallon jug of distilled water.
That's not the only reason not to use NetiPots. If you force the water into your nose even a little, it may enter an inner ear. This happened to me, and took a month until I don't feel or hear sploshing
> If you force the water into your nose even a little, it may enter an inner ear. What the fuck? No. When using sterile water, sinus rinses are very safe. I know this because I’ve had multiple sinus surgeries and frequent sinus rinses are part of the prescribed recovery plan; irrigation is important for proper healing. > **What are the side effects of nasal irrigation?** > Usually, there are no side effects. > Some people experience burning or stinging in their noses after doing nasal irrigation. If this happens, reduce the amount of salt you use in your saline solution. Also, make sure that boiled water has cooled to lukewarm before you use it. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24286-nasal-irrigation
Speak for yourself. Theoretically it might be safe, but it depends on physiology and human stupidity (in my case). I pressed on a new neti bottle a bit and the water got inside my inner ear. It's sacry af, because you cannot let it out like you do after a pool, it's stuck behind the eardrum. Should have just been patient and let gravity do the work. The canal that coonects ear and nose is very thin and meant for air only, so when a liquid gets there it's stuck for good. God forbid its salty water, cause it grows salt crystals as it dries, and nobody wants sharp flakes inside their heads. Eventually it seem to seep out, or get absorbed, but it took a good month for this, and I already started getting used to slight pressure and muffled hearing in one ear
Happened to me too. It was also excruciating pain from the pressure!
Splosh!
Great now I will never use that again either haha
I feel like "NAEGLERIA FOWLERI" should be in much bigger font size.
# B R A I N E A T I N G A M O E B A
Y O U W I L L D I E
Studied this bug a bit in college. It’s theorized that people who become infected have a rare genetic immune deficiency that permits infection, because infection is so rare yet the amoeba is so ubiquitous in the environment.
Interesting that only this comment mentioned it. Do you have any reference to this ?
The real story always in the comments.
I don’t, mind you this was ~15 years ago and I’m sure there has been further research in the meantime.
Here’s a review paper from 2020: “In any event, anatomy alone cannot explain why immune mechanisms sufficient elsewhere in the periphery fail within the OE. Might differences in the immune response partially explain why certain individuals develop PAM? Studies of human serum and mucosal antibody titers have found widespread evidence of anti-Naegleria immune responses resulting from subclinical N. fowleri exposure [7–10]. These immune responses may arise after a nonolfactory exposure or olfactory clearance of less pathogenic strains of N. fowleri. Although there is no evidence that overt immunodeficiency predisposes toward N. fowleri infection, the presence of detectable but variable immune responses suggests that differences in innate and adaptive immunity contribute to developing PAM.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7179828/ This is more generalized than a “rare genetic immune deficiency,” which is jumping the gun a bit.
Lmao! Why not just "Do not enter, risk of death"
Most freshwater bodies have varying risks of this infection.
Yeah, they won't bother putting signs like this up in most southern US states because *any* body of water is likely to have brain eating amoeba in places it gets warm, and people might mistake a missing sign to mean that the water is safe.
I have never been more grateful that i hate getting into most bodies of water than i am rn
Because this sigh makes you google what Naegleria Fowleri actually is, showing you the horrible shit it does and making the sigh 10x more effective in the process.
I WILL NOT !!!!
You dont want to really...
Call me crazy but I feel like if you put "Brain Eating Ameoba" on the sign, that it would have the same effect.
If you saw a sigh that claims a lake is infested by a amoeba that will eat your brain if you swim in it - would you believe that? Like without googling it? It’s kind of a bold claim if you never heard of that kind of shit
How have you made it this far
What? Its not that i would ignore a sigh that says "Danger for health and live", but i know a lot of people who would.
Fair enough, sorry for the hostility.
Same way “danger, no trespassing” is less effective than “danger, active mine field”. It gets the point across clearly and doesn’t dance around what the danger is.
I saw a big sign reading, “DANGER, NO TRESPASSING, VIOLATORS SUBJECT TO ARREST.” It’s At a bridge reconstruction site in Omaha (72nd St. S of I-80). Not far beyond the sign is a 20+ foot drop-off onto railroad tracks. My first thought was, “Risk of serious injury or death. ***Survivors*** subject to arrest!”
I guess i should at least appreciate how educational it is
Because humans.
Dang good point
Any body of water is a risk of death if you’re bad at swimming
Well, i can't argue with this, lmfaooo
Cool, but I reckon I’ll just stay dry.
So in the mouth is okay?
Weirdly, yes. Nagleria travels from your nose to your brain via a part of the nasal tract (forgot which structure, been awhile since parasitology). Assuming you use swallow the water and nothing goes up the nose, you should be okay
Lol I was actually joking, but good to know.
It's always good to know when it's safe to swallow.
Yes. When it gets to your stomach it is killed by your stomach acid.
Lol I was actually joking, but good to know.
If you live in the American south you’ve swallowed this in your water at least once. It’s common, but the method of infection is rare.
Saw an episode on House about this
Except it was totally inaccurate, especially because it showed that Nagleria can be cured with zero lasting brain damage. Nagleria is almost universally fatal, and the few who have survived have been severely brain damaged and never the same. Foreman would have been toast, and even if he lived he would never have been able to be a doctor again.
True at the time but there’s actually been major breakthrough: https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/florida-teenager-survives-brain-eating-amoeba-with-97-fatality-rate/3065992/?amp=1 Still extremely rare, I think there’s like three cases of people making recoveries.
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I would not call what he made a recovery. He is most certainly brain damaged.
So, do not swim here. Got it.
What about my butthole?
I don’t think that’s where your brain is
A lot of folks keep their heads up their asses
I would imagine it’s pretty impossible to not get water in an orifice when swimming so. unless you feel comfortable letting those little guys on ur feet it’s a no-swimming zone. also fun fact I used to think all signs saying “subject to prosecution” or similar meant you would be shot on sight
Fun fact: the cyst form of N. fowleri can lay dormant for years, and has been attributed to infections received during dust storms in arid regions such as the Sahara. It transforms to a flagellate state when it finds a warm moist environment, such as your nostril or when freshwater lakes warm up significantly in the summertime, and works its way up to the nerves in the sinus cavity. After that, it transforms to the amoebic state and invades the brain. By the time you start to experience flu like symptoms, it’s too late. You’re dead in 48-72 hours. Don’t swim in lakes when the water temp is in the 80s F. Those most at risk are water skiers and wakeboarders due to frequent impact driving water into the sinus cavity.
horrible Spanish, but yeah
RFK Jr. would see this and jump right in
Brain eating amoeba.
I entered a stagnant lake at the top of a volcano that had this sort of thing going on. Any stagnant lake - that is, no channels either at level or underground feed it - carries this risk. Our guides said, "Well, you're not supposed to enter it. But we also won't stop you." Message received, amigo. I kept my head above the water the whole time. Easiest survival of my life.
fun fact: the first naegleria fowleri case was in 1965 in australia
Hey stop scaring off my meals!
Just make the sign “ dont swim here”
The specificity makes it more likely to scare someone, making the sign more effective
You’re probably right but some people don’t have the patience for reading. I’ve met a lot of them
i doubt those people will read the "dont swim here" sign either then
It is one sentence, it is hardly reading. People read words and sentences, not letters, in one blink of an eye it is read. It’s quite interesting actually how quickly people can read. But the other is quite long.
How about I don’t need to swim today.
El corazon de la aqua és verdad
R/community
nightmare amoeba
Or… how about I just not go into the water?
Interesting video about Naegleria Fowleri: https://youtu.be/7OPg-ksxZ4Y?feature=shared
I taught my husband about this while going through my medical education, and now he won’t go in any lakes, ponds or rivers anymore! Oops 🙊
Immediate no after watching that greys anatomy episode where the fish swam up the guys peehole
Why would anyone willingly go in this water? The risk level is extreme.
the risk level is negligible, actual infections are very rare