The Rules for Swimming and Eating

Have you been swimming in Lake Havasu? While the man-made body of water is similar to many others, it’s been the one in the news. Recently, bacteria there entered through a child’s nose and slowly ate at his brain until he died. Cases are rare on a global scale, but often enough to freak people right out locally, prompting some calls to close the lake. It affects children, predominantly. Think of them!

You start with a stiff neck. Maybe, you think, you pulled or strained something while swimming, or playing. You were thrashing about, after all. In fact, that’s how the bacteria got up your nose. It’s the bacteria causing the headaches, not staying out in the sun for too long. How else could you explain the fever?

Then you know something’s wrong. Your consciousness starts to get affected. You behave differently. You hallucinate. You experience the cognitive effects of your brain being eaten inside out, and then you die. The Naegleria Fowleri bacteria thrive in hotter climates, so our polluting effects might increase the number of cases just like this. See, it’s fun when one problem connects to another. Global warming, temperature up, bacteria thrive, brains get eaten. Who knows wherein lies the first link of the destructive chain that wipes out the planet.

Twenty-three died from the bacteria from 1995 to 2004, but six died in the past year. What to do in the meantime? Keep water from going up your nose. And keep your pool clean. Not kidding with either of those.

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