Just when I thought I got over the anxiety of open water swiming and worrying about heart attacks…now this . AARRGG!!!
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/15/deadly-amoeba-suspected-in-florida-teens-death/
Just when I thought I got over the anxiety of open water swiming and worrying about heart attacks…now this . AARRGG!!!
http://www.foxnews.com/...florida-teens-death/
And how many stagnant freshwater lakes do you swim in that are over 80 in temp?
John
Make sure not to type the word “car” into the ST searchbox.
On the plus side, an old altitude tent can double as a plastic bubble.
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None 
but a few lakes over 80 degrees lately near the surface. Now I’m starting to like the jet ski’s and motor boats keep the water moving.
There have been tiger sharks and grey reef sharks around the Ironman swim course here in Kona of late. You can add those to your worry list as well.
Does that include the 6 footer that was seen swimming near the pier the weekend of August 6th?
The Tigers are averaging about 14 feet. A 6 foot shark could be a female white tip reef shark if its an adult or a juvenile of just about any other species.
Good to know.
Wife and I were out swimming the morning of the 8th and someone had mentioned the shark. We didn’t see it, but at least water visibility was decent.
I did the Disney Tri in 2007 in Orlando (last real year for it I believe) and this little critter was a real issue. They almost cancelled the swim but didnt even though many of us thought they should. They gave people the option to skip the swim and make it a du if they wanted ORRR they had (i kid you not) a table chock full of noseplugs on the beach right at the start. I took the plugs and did the swim and was admitadly freaked out the whole swim. Especially after I hit the turn buoy and realized I had lost the plugs in some contact with another swimmer.
That event was already the red headed step child for Disney and I think the amoeba pushed them over the edge. They turned it over to a private group I think and it still happens but its not officially a Disney event.
All that to say its a nasty little critter that loves Florida Lakes in the summer time. But hey no worries mate I swam in the thick of it and I turned out fine. I still know that 2+2=5 and that E=MC.Hammer
And how many stagnant freshwater lakes do you swim in that are over 80 in temp?
I only ows in a local 600 acre lake near Atlanta. The water temp. is easily over 80-degrees near the surface this time of year. I’d bet that all the lakes in Georgia, except those in the northern most counties are the same.
My wife had an intestinal parasite earlier this year - bad news (blood). One prescription would have been $700 w/o insurance.
All Missouri lakes over 80 degrees.
Below is a post by “Jacksdad” from this site in 07; like the family in the story above, they donated some of Jack’s organs.
"Many of you that live in Central Texas have probably seen reports of the 12 year old boy that died 3 weeks ago from amebic meningitis and of the 22 year old that recently died from the same condition this last week. I’m the 12 year olds father or should I say was his father. Jack participated in 3 kids tri’s a few years back and I’ve been involved off and on for the last 10 years. Both my son and the young man from Lubbock, Texas died after swimming in Lake LBJ, however local and State officials are doing little if anything to prevent another death. My post is not for sympathy, but rather to beg you not to swim in that lake or at least take simple precautions such as using a nose clip. I dropped my son off at camp on a beautiful Sunday morning and buried him 4 weeks later. I watched my vibrant son become brain dead in the span of 5 days. Florida has had similar cases but they are very proactive the use of warning signs, etc. "
Yeah my moms a biologist and always warns me about swimming in small ponds. She said in bigger bodies of water, or running water, the risk is much less.
average annual deaths from shark attacks in the United States - 1.
Below is a post by “Jacksdad” from this site in 07; like the family in the story above, they donated some of Jack’s organs.
"Many of you that live in Central Texas have probably seen reports of the 12 year old boy that died 3 weeks ago from amebic meningitis and of the 22 year old that recently died from the same condition this last week. I’m the 12 year olds father or should I say was his father. Jack participated in 3 kids tri’s a few years back and I’ve been involved off and on for the last 10 years. Both my son and the young man from Lubbock, Texas died after swimming in Lake LBJ, however local and State officials are doing little if anything to prevent another death. My post is not for sympathy, but rather to beg you not to swim in that lake or at least take simple precautions such as using a nose clip. I dropped my son off at camp on a beautiful Sunday morning and buried him 4 weeks later. I watched my vibrant son become brain dead in the span of 5 days. Florida has had similar cases but they are very proactive the use of warning signs, etc. "
Wow that is scary and very sad
6 deaths per year for brain eating amoeba. So, swim fast when you see one
average annual deaths from shark attacks in the United States - 1.
true, but people still worry about it. And it’s not just being the one, they worry about being left alive too. And despite the fact that we’re far worse to them than they are to us, it’s still not a good idea to being doing your swim training with a Tiger.
Thanks for tracking that down - I thought of it when I saw the thread title. Very sad.
So the amoeba can’t live in under 80 degree water? And if you don’t get water in your nose your safer? Bigger body water the risk is lower?