Fear of brain eating amoeba

[andys135]

Hi all. I went water skiing on a freshwater lake a few days ago. Someone brought up brain eating amoeba as a joke and it freaked me out! I then proceeded to look it up and realized you can get it from warm fresh water lakes if you get water up your nose. I didn’t inhale water through my nose but it definitely splashed me while I was skiing in the face and some probably got in my nose. Anyway now I am concerned I could have the brain eating amoeba. I have a lot of health problems already going on including a pretty bad immune system. I have frequent headaches and just keep thinking I could be coming down with the brain eating amoeba. I know it’s extemley rare and thousands of people swim in lakes every summer and don’t get it but I can’t help but think I’ll somehow be the one in a million. One person has had it in the state of from so I’m scared it may have been the same lake!

[mardem1]

It occurs from zero to eight times a year, almost always from July to September.
headache
fever
stiff neck
loss of appetite
vomiting
altered mental state
seizures
coma
An anti-parasitic drug called miltefosine (sold as Impavido) has been used to treat patients and even, in two cases in 2013, saved victims' lives. The anti-parasitic drug miltefosine is used off-label to treat infections by the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri.
There is no rapid test for infection with brain-eating amoeba. But researchers are working to develop one. Until such tests come along, it can take weeks to identify the amoeba.
It takes two to 15 days for symptoms to appear after N. fowleri amoebas enter the nose. Death usually occurs three to seven days after symptoms appear

Hi, I'm sorry your having the Health Anxiety. I'm currently having the same thing but I'm convinced I have, will contract, or already have contracted Meningitis today. Good thing is you know the side effects it takes about 15 days to appear. I have too wait a couple days to a week too to see if any menigitis symptoms appear too so I get that waiting is scary. I'm gonna try to keep myself occupied and if worse comes to worse and I have symptoms or you have symptoms atleast we know exactly what it is and can get help immediately. Good Luck

[paranoid-viking]

TWO OF YOU? Two of you here ossessed with such non-existing, sorry the expression, NONSENSE? Do you talk to your friends and family about this? And what do they say? No, I am not going to give you "reassurance" about such nonsense as "brain eating amoebas". You must talk to a mental health professional about this. And please show them copies of your long and detailed post and ask them if you really should be out on the Internet posting this.
This is no just hypocondria, it is a form of OCD. It is like people fearing abductian from aliens from outer space.

mardem1: you are googling too much. Try to google something else. We all have interests and hobbies. Google something useful. Not brain eating amoebas. I am saying this to be nice to you.

[Fishmanpa]

Yep... Summertime... warm weather, beaches, fun and posts about brain eating amoebas and invisible ninja bats :wacko:

I make light of it only due to the impossibility of it all.

Positive thoughts