So worried about naegleria fowleri after swimming help please?

[neptune296]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for taking the time to look at my post. I'm really having a hard time these last 5 days. I'm a 27 year old guy and last Wednesday I went swimming in a what appeared to be a well maintained pool. I could smell chlorine and it was clear. I unfortunately got some water up my nose from what I can remember when jumping around and of course being my crazy self I've convinced myself that I've somehow contracted the brain eating amoeba naegleria fowleri.

What makes it worse is the past day and a half I've felt like I have a little bug and have a slightly elevated temperature of 99.7 and a slight sinus headache. All I can think about is this is the beginning of the end :weep:. I don't know how that possibly could have happened just from swimming in a pool and I just would like some feedback and kind words if possible.

Thank you for help it means a lot :)

[Dying_Swan]

Have a little read of this (https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?231180-Think-you-got-PAM-Brain-eating-amoeba-READ-THIS!). Someone else who had this fear has written it and you might find it helpful to rationalise your thinking. Think of the many times you've surely got water up your nose when swimming, alongside the many millions of others who have too, and have not got this disease. I'd never even heard of it until people started worrying about it on here. I could be wrong but I'm sure you're far more likely to have picked up a common cold virus rather than what you fear. Hope you feel better soon :flowers:

[KK77]

I could smell chlorine and it was clear.


Status: Carrying on swimming

[Fishmanpa]

Your post history shows a tendency to gravitate toward incredibly rare fatal diseases (mad cow, sporadic fatal insomnia etc.). This is in line with your pattern of HA and equally as fantastical in nature. Nuff said.... :whistles:

Positive thoughts

[neptune296]

Thank you all :hugs:. I know how irrational it is and you're right I do tend to go towards the worst case scenario and focus on rare diseases. Although I don't get into this state very often I find it very hard to rationalize during it and don't really know how to cope except with waiting it out :weep:. All the posts help a lot and definitely realize how impossible it is to get especially from what seemed to be a clean pool. So I guess I'll try to just take deep breaths and distract myself for the next couple of days and hopefully I feel better.

[neptune296]

One thing that concerns me is that I have a little sinus headache now and have had a low grade fever. I don't know if anyone has any tips on how I can rationalize that this headache isn't the beginning of something worse like naegleria fowleri? My mind just goes straight to it and I know there's so many other causes of headache and low fever besides something so rare. I'm sure I sound a bit crazy but the support really helps a lot :weep:.

Thanks.

[Fishmanpa]

I'm sure I sound a bit crazy but the support really helps a lot :weep:.

Is is support or reassurance? All the support you need are in the logical and irrefutable facts. You swam in a clean chlorinated pool. End of story.

Positive thoughts

[neptune296]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I've been so busy at work I finally got a chance to get on and follow up. I'm feeling better in terms of the low grade fever I had when I first posted and it's been 10 days since I went swimming. At least according to the CDC symptoms show up in a range of 1-9 days and median of 5 but some sites say 2-12 days :/. So aside from the fact that I need to just accept how rare it is and the real facts at least I'm near the end of the "waiting" period.

I really feel for anyone who's ever worried about this and I honestly wish I never even knew about it. Ignorance is bliss :noangel:. I'm probably going to start seeing a therapist maybe that'll help me avoid these "episodes". I don't know if anyone else is like this but I've managed to get a good handle on most of my daily health anxiety and live happier for it but rarely probably once a year or so I can get myself into these spirals that leave me waiting out symptoms terrified with panic attacks until the time period passes or the symptoms are gone and it always usually has to do with some deadly disease trying to figure out how to deal with those :/. Maybe someone can relate?

Anyway thanks all for the support I feel like I'm not quite out of the woods yet cause I think I got myself a tension headache and have been anxious about it today but I hope to come back to this post and end it with saying I obviously didn't have this rare disease and maybe at the very least that'll encourage other people to see how irrational this "episode" of worry really is if they end up in the same boat.

Nathan

[HelloPanda23]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I've been so busy at work I finally got a chance to get on and follow up. I'm feeling better in terms of the low grade fever I had when I first posted and it's been 10 days since I went swimming. At least according to the CDC symptoms show up in a range of 1-9 days and median of 5 but some sites say 2-12 days :/. So aside from the fact that I need to just accept how rare it is and the real facts at least I'm near the end of the "waiting" period.

I really feel for anyone who's ever worried about this and I honestly wish I never even knew about it. Ignorance is bliss :noangel:. I'm probably going to start seeing a therapist maybe that'll help me avoid these "episodes". I don't know if anyone else is like this but I've managed to get a good handle on most of my daily health anxiety and live happier for it but rarely probably once a year or so I can get myself into these spirals that leave me waiting out symptoms terrified with panic attacks until the time period passes or the symptoms are gone and it always usually has to do with some deadly disease trying to figure out how to deal with those :/. Maybe someone can relate?

Anyway thanks all for the support I feel like I'm not quite out of the woods yet cause I think I got myself a tension headache and have been anxious about it today but I hope to come back to this post and end it with saying I obviously didn't have this rare disease and maybe at the very least that'll encourage other people to see how irrational this "episode" of worry really is if they end up in the same boat.

Nathan

As dying swan stated, read this: https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?231180-Think-you-got-PAM-Brain-eating-amoeba-READ-THIS! This thread was created by me and it’s based on many hours of research. As stated I have previously gone through this fear and wasted a year on it. Read my thread as many times as you need to. Good luck, oh and if it wasn’t already apparent, you don’t have PAM. ;)

[Fishmanpa]

I feel like I'm not quite out of the woods yet

You never stepped into them :whistles:

Positive thoughts