flesh eating bacteria is everywhere?

[TBPowa]

i need to study flesh eating bacteria for a biology oral exam, and now i’m slightly obsessed with it. it is a very rare disease, yet a lot of people i know know someone who had it, which makes my brain think that it must not be so rare (they wouldn’t classify it as rare of it wasn’t what is this) and that i’m gonna be the next one to have it. i practice adequate wound care when i am hurt, so my chances of getting it are lowered a bit. still i am stressed out about it since i am tired lately and the anxiety is getting to me more. i’m mainl using this to rant and get the anxiety out, but i want to know if anyone can relate to my problems?

[Chris 614]

I can relate in a way. I know many people who have gotten cancer...but it's because I'm older and my mom is 83 and I know people through her. So more people aren't getting cancer, but with age comes more years of knowing people...And more chances of cancer.

As far at the flesh eating bacteria goes...I have never known of anyone who had it. Ever. The people you say know someone who knows someone...I don't know...I find it hard to believe. I mean, someone might have read an article about someone who got it...then they told someone about it...then that person says to you...oh, I know someone who knows someone who had it. You know what I mean? It IS very rare. This doesn't even make it on my HA radar.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Look at the statistics rather than anecdotal evidence. Looking at the latter encourages bias when considered as an indicator for something larger...and anxiety sufferers are already struggling with negative bias in their thinking.

If one town has an outbreak of something the population may be linked in various ways or closer to the information. A massive thing to them but to someone else where it's small.

[Careful1]

I have certainly been there before.. Its like once I learn about a disease no matter how rare it is, it starts popping up everywhere... For instance, I have been doing everything I can to find out the cause of death on both my biological father and his father because they both died suddenly at the same age of 51 years old. Since I was diagnosed with a few different heart arrhythmia's and my cardiologist has had many ideas over the years, I want to know if its genetic for myself and my children... In any case, I started to have some strange symptoms starting in April of this year and one of my specialist brought up Ehlers-Danlos syndrome vascular which happens to be a pretty rare type of Ehlers that I have never heard of before... I didnt go googling it because I know what will happen if I start doing that and so I just left it alone and will talk about it at my appointment with the genetic doctor he referred me to next month. Okay, so I came on here a few days ago and was searching for something and in the list that shows what people on here have searched the forum for recently, there it was!!! Someone had searched for Ehlers-Danlos and someone or the same person had also searched for vascular. Then 2 days ago, I checked my email and I had an email from Change.org about a girl who was denied medical treatment and when I opened it up to sign the petition, there it was again... She has Ehlers-Danlos vascular. So basically im just seeing it everywhere now.
Its very frustrating because it puts thoughts into my head like the universe is trying to tell me something.. Like its a sign... I mean deep down, I know its not rational but try telling that to my anxiety :shrug: I think maybe it has something to do with the fact we are worried about whatever disease and so when we come across it somewhere it jumps out at us where as if we weren't worried about it, we wouldn't give it a second thought??? Maybe??? I dont know but it makes sense to me....

As far as flesh eating bacteria goes, I have never met anyone who has had it...

[TBPowa]

thank you all for your answers, they helped me a bit. my health anxiety started to leave me, but it came back. i have a scratch near my anus, from when i scratched too hard a few days ago. today i pooped and i am scared that by wiping i got poop in the scratch and that it will get infected by that Nasty Flesh Eating Bacteria. it is very rare that i would get it or that this scratch that is a few days old would get infected, as i have a good immune system. i am still worried down to the bone...

[MyNameIsTerry]

Amended my last post as stupidly explained something the wrong way round! :doh:

I think regarding this scratch you have to remember that the immune system works well for us. We must scratch or cut ourselves near to dirty areas all the time.

Think about those of us with piles which is so common in the general population. They bleed and yet that's all that comes of it including the external ones. In many cases we are wiping poo over the pile but the body handles it very successfully.

[Careful1]

thank you all for your answers, they helped me a bit. my health anxiety started to leave me, but it came back. i have a scratch near my anus, from when i scratched too hard a few days ago. today i pooped and i am scared that by wiping i got poop in the scratch and that it will get infected by that Nasty Flesh Eating Bacteria. it is very rare that i would get it or that this scratch that is a few days old would get infected, as i have a good immune system. i am still worried down to the bone...

Think about all the people that suffer constipation and often tear their anus.. A lot of times when they go again its healing and so it rips again. It takes those a good amount of time to heal because of that... They dont end up with flesh eating bacteria... I think you are okay :)

[Fishmanpa]

it is a very rare disease, yet a lot of people i know know someone who had it,

I'm sorry, based on the number of cases reported, that would be beyond impossibility.

Positive thoughts