Don't Go Swimming Without Reading This First!

That cool, shady pool or mountain stream might look inviting for a refreshing swim,
but it can "harbor" parasites and bacteria that can make you ill.

Recreational water illnesses (RWI's) can affect your skin, eyes, ears and
possibly trigger the deadly brain infection-primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

Avoidance is the key, but when in doubt..take the following precautions before taking the splash:

• Stay away from warm and muddy water. The amoeba Naegleria fowler thrives in water 💧 86° or wamer
and at the bottom of fresh lakes, ponds and streams.

• Don't swim or wade in marshy areas. You can "pick up" an annoying parasite that causes "swimmer's itch" - a condition
characterized by itching , burning, and rash lasting up to a week.

• Don't swim if you have an open wound.

• Wear nose plugs. Many paradiates and bacteria enter your body through the nostrils.

• Thoroughly dry your ears to protect against "swimmer's ear" - a painful bacterial infection.

Good Luck & Take care!

All of your points are especially true in Florida where I had lived for years until I moved to Tennessee late last year. Most lakes contain alligators and water moccasins as well as the bacteria you have already listed. The exception would be the many springs all through-out as the water is quite cold and discourages alligators and water moccasins and does not readily support harmful bacteria.

T Y, for your informative post..best to you!

Love the springs in north Florida. Gods country for sure.

Absolutely.

Thanks for the info! I swim regularly outdoors here in Oregon, and usually the water is pretty cold, but I will think twice the next time I consider swimming at a hot spring. God Bless You!

Just to clarify... the gators and water moccasins were in Florida, right? Getting ready to move to TN...

Yeah, Florida.

I’ve got mixed feelings about that. Really wonder about our germ removal , germ neutral obsession in modern society. To an extent I understand we don’t want the black plague again but isn’t exposure to bacteria and germs precisely what helps the human body build and help maintain its immunity and resistance to infections? Isn’t there a thing going around in hospitals especially related antibiotic resistant germs recently? Full disclosure I spent many childhood years playing in swampy pond water ,streams, rivers, around bugs and sweaty dirty farm animals . Some of my best childhood memories involved that stuff so I might be biased as well.😊