# Brain Eating Amoebia, im freaking out? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 7, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634 "2013-08-07T20:51:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/41 "2013-08-08T15:34:49Z")
I’m thinking that an eye-dropper full of amoeba-infused water would be a great assassination weapon for a sleeping victim. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/42 "2013-08-08T16:47:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Heck the odds of some random stranger knifing me in the back while I buy milk at Kroger are probably greater than me dying by swimming in that water park. Luckily, we have no Krogers around here! ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/43 "2013-08-08T16:54:20Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > 130 cases since the CDC has been tracking it is a very, very low number of infections, given the millions of folks who swim in fresh water. That’s a pretty low rate of infection- but it’s a lot of affected people. I don’t know how many people have been killed by hantavirus or West Nile or Lyme Disease, but all those are legit concerns. ---
**Author:** ![thanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@thanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thanatic)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/44 "2013-08-08T20:10:55Z")
2 days since swimming no symptoms so far ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/45 "2013-08-08T20:14:20Z")
> [@Red\_Stilettos](#): > > I’m a water microbiologist and a former neti pot user for exactly this reason. Neti pots are the _perfect_ delivery system for Naegleria. In both of these cases, the household plumbing was contaminated, causing contamination of the water. We don’t understand Naegleria very well at all, so theories about how the pipes became contaminated are pure speculation. With such a high case fatality rate, I’m not going to risk it. > > I do, however, still swim in freshwater. The low risk of contamination plus the low risk of getting water into your sinuses is enough for me. Everything I’ve read says that boiling or proper filtration (below 0.2 microns) is enough. Do you have other information? Though I must admit boiling the water takes out the convenience of the whole thing. The whole thing is rather temperature sensitive, so water faucets make the whole thing a lot easier. And the filters seem to be so expensive. Still, being sick sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/46 "2013-08-08T20:37:11Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > 2 days since swimming > > no symptoms so far Well you wouldn’t expect symptoms during the incubation period, would you? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/47 "2013-08-08T20:39:45Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > ok so yesterday afternoon, i went boating with my family at tablerock lake in missouri, it was a warm day… the water was warm… and i only jumped in 1 time, in open water about 40 ft deep… for like 5 seconds then got back on There is a little girl recovering from that in Little Rock, so it is a popular subject on the news. It is said by those who know to occur in shallow water where folks are kicking up the gunk on the bottom, that is swims up your nose and that it may require an unusual formation of a structure that allows contact from the back of the nose to the brain. I bet your safe, and that a whole bunch of folks are worried about it in this area, so I bet the Doctors are studied up on it. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/48 "2013-08-08T20:40:05Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Well you wouldn’t expect symptoms during the incubation period, would you? :dubious: Exactly this. Could be 7-14 days before there’s anything to notice, then maybe a slight fever. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/49 "2013-08-08T20:49:25Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I bet your safe, I bet you are safe. 🙂 Here is a link to the [local story.](http://ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-girl-brain-eating-parasite-beating-incredible-odds) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/50 "2013-08-08T22:16:56Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Remember mad cow disease? One of the first things the US did was ban beef imports from the UK, even though it only killed like, one in a million. > > Well, now it’s our turn. I’m going to import my warm lake water from elsewhere from now on. Its comical because our terrible diet, sedentary lifestyle, social isolation and high stress lives is what is ruining our health by and large, these diseases like mad cow or infections from water are real, but not really something most people will ever experience. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/51 "2013-08-08T22:33:25Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Its comical because our terrible diet, sedentary lifestyle, social isolation and high stress lives is what is ruining our health by and large, these diseases like mad cow or infections from water are real, but not really something most people will ever experience. The physician in the link I provided said that the benefits from swimming are far greater than the possibility of getting an amoeba in your brain. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/52 "2013-08-09T00:27:12Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > i heard though that this ameobia is more prevelent in shallow waters then deep, open waters The reality is that we don’t have enough information to say. The amoeba are very rare and waters are very rarely tested for them. Generally, testing only happens after an infection has occurred. In those cases, the exposure is usually in shallow water ('cause that’s where people frolic), so those are the areas tested. That means that most positive results are in shallow water, but the vast majority of testing is also in shallow water. If the very low risk of this infection has you worried, use nose clips when you swim. Problem solved. [QUOTE=BigT] Everything I’ve read says that boiling or proper filtration (below 0.2 microns) is enough. Do you have other information? [/QUOTE] Nope, you are correct. Boiling the water before use is effective. I’m just too lazy to do it. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/53 "2013-08-09T00:40:12Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > i heard though that this ameobia is more prevelent in shallow waters then deep, open waters > [@thanatic](#): > > i heard though that this ameobia is more prevelent in shallow waters then deep, open waters Aren’t repetitive actions and obsessive thoughts early indicators of infection:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/54 "2013-08-09T01:57:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Everything I’ve read says that boiling or proper filtration (below 0.2 microns) is enough. Wow. The device that makes reverse osmosis water for my aquariums has a .5 micron filter. It removes chlorine and metals. Perhaps you or I are off by a decimal point. The hydra I occasionally find in an aquarium, when balled up to escape being crushed are about a millimeter in diameter. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/55 "2013-08-09T03:24:27Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Wow. > The device that makes reverse osmosis water for my aquariums has a .5 micron filter. > It removes chlorine and metals. Perhaps you or I are off by a decimal point. The hydra I occasionally find in an aquarium, when balled up to escape being crushed are about a millimeter in diameter. You’re off. There’s no way a 0.5 micron filter alone removes chlorine. There might be some other method associated with it that removes chlorine (for example, carbon filter). Viruses will go through 0.3 micron pores. Chlorine and metals are much smaller. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/56 "2013-08-09T03:38:44Z")
> [@Red\_Stilettos](#): > > I’m a water microbiologist and a former neti pot user for exactly this reason. Neti pots are the _perfect_ delivery system for Naegleria. In both of these cases, the household plumbing was contaminated, causing contamination of the water. We don’t understand Naegleria very well at all, so theories about how the pipes became contaminated are pure speculation. With such a high case fatality rate, I’m not going to risk it. > > I do, however, still swim in freshwater. The low risk of contamination plus the low risk of getting water into your sinuses is enough for me. I live alone in a huge, 15 yr old 3 story house. I finished the lowest floor (tri level) and moved down there a year ago, rarely go to upper floors, except when I have company. So I noticed in the upper floor jacuzzi, and the upper floor tubs, when hot water is turned on, there are tiny black flakes for the first 5 minutes. If you rub them with a wash cloth on the white tub walls, they smear. The only way to clean them is with barkeepers friend or scouring powder. It’s never in the cold water lines. Anything to be worried about? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/57 "2013-08-09T03:46:28Z")
Hard to tell from this description alone, but I’d suspect mold in the pipes. Probably nothing to worry about, but I can’t guarantee that without testing. The easiest way to prevent it is to flush the pipes regularly. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/58 "2013-08-09T06:25:05Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Its comical because our terrible diet, sedentary lifestyle, social isolation and high stress lives is what is ruining our health by and large, these diseases like mad cow or infections from water are real, but not really something most people will ever experience. Yep, how humans process risk is very interesting. I should say though that when I said mad cow disease “only kills one in a million”, I wasn’t being serious. I don’t think it is acceptable to have to play the Fatal Neurodegeneration Lottery every time you have a burger 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/59 "2013-08-09T07:54:48Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I recall that the famous Roman baths in Bath, England were closed to swimming because a girl died of this disease-do most hot springs contain this amoebia? Certainly hot pools are a major risk factor - I grew up in NZ in an area with lots of geothermal pools. We were very aware of the risks of amoebic meningitis (caused by Naegleria fowler) - 8 deaths between 1968 and 1978, according to wiki (and I bet my mother could have told you about of most of those reported during that period, every time we headed off to the hot pools). Basically, the rules were that if the pool was unlined (dirt/mud bottoms), there was no diving/jumping/ducking etc. You avoided any actions that might force water up your nose. Of course, we were kids, and the rules were more like … _guidelines_. Fortunately our nearest pools at Awakeri were concreted and treated, and we could be as active as we liked - or at least until the heat sapped our energy and all we could do was soak in the sulphurous mineral waters. Good times. We never considered lakes/rivers to be a risk for amoebic meningitis - they had giardia and a variety of other intestinal disorders due to the high bovine faecal load from intensive dairy farming (as well as the generic risk of drowning in deep or fast flowing waters). But we swam and played in the lakes and rivers and streams and hot pools, and most of us survived. Here in the UK, I have swum in a number of lakes - some manmade shallow things used for water skiing/rowing, with swans and ducks and little inflow/outflow. Some of those have been pretty warm, too, up to 24° (too hot for wetsuits). But I never would have considered amoebic meningitis a risk. Swimmers itch, I got several times, and a few doses of runny guts. But nothing serious. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634/60 "2013-08-09T13:07:00Z")
> [@Red\_Stilettos](#): > > You’re off. There’s no way a 0.5 micron filter alone removes chlorine. There might be some other method associated with it that removes chlorine (for example, carbon filter). Viruses will go through 0.3 micron pores. Chlorine and metals are much smaller. Looks like [1 micron and carbon.](http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24110) 1 X 10 -6 meter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brain-eating-amoebia-im-freaking-out/665634.md?page=4)