It Came From The Depths

I'm still not quite over the movie "Jaws," which came out in 1975. I rarely go into the Gulf, and when I do, I sense that sharp teeth could slice through my leg at any moment. Somehow, it's hard to relax.

Lakes are fun, except for the invisible brain-eating creature living at the bottom.

Naegleria fowleri, it's called. It's an amoeba that enters your nose and works its way up the olfactory nerve to feast on the brain.

Here's the worrisome part: It causes encephalitis and kills just about everyone it infects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that it's very rare. Of the multitudes who plunged into lakes in the past 10 years, only 33 people got the disease and 31 died from it. It happened in 15 Southern states in the heat of the summer, and, for some reason, most of the victims were boys.

Symptoms, which appear one to 14 days after exposure, include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and stiff neck. Then comes confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations. Death comes within three to seven days after symptoms begin.

The CDC notes that although Naegleria fowleri infection is rare, people should assume there is a risk of the amoeba being present when they enter any warm body of water, particularly in July, August and September. Those include lakes, rivers, hot springs and poorly maintained swimming pools with little or no chlorine.

Avoid stirring up the sediment at the lake bottom as you wade in, and do not dunk your head underwater. If you do, at least hold your nose.

If I ever go into a lake again, and I doubt I will, I'll be wearing nose clips. You probably should, too - and make your kids wear them. They'll look like complete nerds with their nostrils all pinched together, and they will surely hate you for it. But I think it's worth it.

I'd make them wear ear plugs, too, although the CDC doesn't suggest it. And if they gave me any backtalk, I'd tell them to shut their mouths - especially when they jump in a lake.