Recreational water illnesses - RWI

[Ivan Seeking]

Just caught a story about the bacteria found in swimming pools, lakes, rivers, and oceans. In particular they mentioned that chlorine is not immediately effective against some bugs that can live as long as days in a pool. As a kid I had chronic ear infections and always from pools. I could swim in the ocean without any problems. They used to attribute this to water trapped in the ear, but now they [CDC] are saying that this results in part from the bacteria in pool water.

In particular they warned against getting water in your mouth as this can cause a number of GI problems.

One interesting note: At the age of fifteen I had surgery which resulted in ~500 stiches internally and externally. After something like 10 weeks, the wound seemingly healed more in one day at the beach than during the entire previous ten weeks. It seems that there is nothing like salt water and sun to heal a wound.

 

[Astronuc]

I don't believe I've ever had a RWI, and I used to swim in pools a lot, and I used to swim in freshwater ponds and lakes, especially when canoeing. We'd ram and sink each other's canoes (playing pirates or renacting the naval battles of the Greco-Persian wars) - then play submarine and ram each other.

As a kid, I more or less grew up at the ocean - lots of time at the beach - and most of that in the water (seawater).

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I don't believe I've ever had a RWI, and I used to swim in pools a lot, and I used to swim in freshwater ponds and lakes, especially when canoeing. We'd ram and sink each other's canoes (playing pirates or renacting the naval battles of the Greco-Persian wars) - then play submarine and ram each other.

As a kid, I more or less grew up at the ocean - lots of time at the beach - and most of that in the water (seawater).

In the pacific NW, they say that if you've ever drank raw water from a creek you probably have giardia. I also liked some of the recommendations like don't swim around sewage discharge lines. Gee, do you think?!

The ocean is now so polluted locally that people in S.Cal often get sick from the water. My cousin -a surfer - recently got hepatitis from the water.

I would assume that when you were a kid these bad bacteria hadn't yet evolved.

 

[Astronuc]

In the pacific NW, they say that if you've ever drank raw water from a creek you probably have giardia. I also liked some of the recommendations like don't swim around sewage discharge lines. Gee, do you think?!

I did get ill one time from contaminated (coliform) water in Colorado. I was on a ski trip one winter and we stayed in a small town (Granby, Co) in the mountains. Apparently they had a failure in their sewage treatment system, which somehow contaminated the towns water supply. A lot of people got very ill. It didn't hit me so hard, but several others in the group were seriously ill!

The ocean is now so polluted locally that people in S.Cal often get sick from the water. My cousin -a surfer - recently got hepatitis from the water.

Yeah, I hear about the sewage discharges all the time around LA and SD. Governments want to cut taxes, which means infrastructure deteriorates - and people's health and safety are compromised.

I would assume that when you were a kid these bad bacteria hadn't yet evolved.

I was a kid in Australia. The population was only about 8 million then. I live in two towns, one on the south coast, and one on Port Phillip Bay. Both were small, and we only had to walk maybe a mile or so to the beach. The water was very clean - no pollution. It maybe different now - there's more industrial development.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I was a kid in Australia

Oh yes, I forgot about that.

I was trying to make an old guy joke... - He's so old that the bacteria hadn't evolved yet...

 

[larkspur]

I was trying to make an old guy joke... - He's so old that the bacteria hadn't evolved yet...

I thought it was funny

 

[Gokul43201]

Just spent the day kayaking - lots of insects in the water, at calm spots. There were thousands of water striders (gerris argentatus) and some weird dragonflies that looked like they had only one wing. Neither, I think, likes to bite humans.

Here's a picture I took of the water striders - the one right in the middle is captured best; you can see its reflection in the water.:

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/8905/waterbug2xu.jpg

 

[arildno]

Very nice, Gokul!
Did you put soap into that water, just for the fun of it?

 

[Astronuc]

Here's a picture I took of the water striders - the one right in the middle is captured best; you can see its reflection in the water.:

Hey Gokul, that looks like pea soup.

Water striders don't bite, neither do dragonflies or damselflies. Dragonflies do eat mosquitos and other annoying insects. It is cool to watch them catching insects in the air.

Today I say a butterfly being attacked by what looked like a bee, but the insect, which looked like a bee moved so fast I could tell for sure. The butterfly fly very erratically to escape whatever it was.

 

[Astronuc]

I was trying to make an old guy joke... - He's so old that the bacteria hadn't evolved yet...

Ah, or you could say, I am so old that my only friend were unicell organisms.

 

[Gokul43201]

There was this one creature that looked like it might bite me if it had to. But I'm not sure what it is. Fortunately, I was able to follow it discreetly after it surfaced and swam to shore. I managed to get close enough to snap this shot:

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/6052/img20652qj.jpg

If I had to guess, I'd say it was either a beaver or a muskrat (from its swimming style, I'm leaning towards beaver), but having never gotten to see its tail, I can't be more certain. Does anyone know what this critter is? The length of the animal visible in the picture is about a foot.

Sorry for the digression, but the thread title does include "recreational water", and we all know that two out of three ain't bad.

 

[arildno]

Looks like a drowned dog to me.

 

[Gokul43201]

Looks like a drowned dog to me.

Cannis inundatis? Really?

 

[arildno]

Well, it might be Lupus asphyxiata, but I'm no biologist.

 

[Evo]

It's a beaver.

 

[Astronuc]

Yep, looks like a beaver to me, too!

 

[Gokul43201]

Must be my relative lack of experience. You "older" folks sure seem to know your beaver!
<runs and hides>

 

[JasonRox]

Looks totally like a beaver.

 

[DocToxyn]

It's pretty hard to tell from the pic/description. It's either a young/small beaver or a muskrat. For comparison:

Muskrat:
http://tinyurl.com/e8cym"


Beaver"
http://wildlifepark.gov.ns.ca/animals/images/beaver.jpg

I'm leaning more towards beaver due to what appers to be a longer shape at the base of the tail. Did you notice any "beaver sign" around - large leafy branches in the water, obvious bite marks on trees?

 

[DocToxyn]

Here's another RWI, you may, or may not, have heard of.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/sp/feature/index.php"

 

[Gokul43201]

I'm leaning more towards beaver due to what appers to be a longer shape at the base of the tail. Did you notice any "beaver sign" around - large leafy branches in the water, obvious bite marks on trees?

I looked about for a couple of minutes but didn't see any. It's swimming style, however, was a smooth up and down wavy motion with little or no sideways action.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Here's a nasty little parasite that one might encounter in Texas.

http://www.local6.com/2006/0719/9543282.jpg
http://www.local6.com/slideshow/news/5812538/detail.html?qs=1;s=1;dm=ss;p=news;w=400

 

[Ukitake Jyuushirou]

In particular they warned against getting water in your mouth as this can cause a number of GI problems.

recently i was diagnosed with giardiasis but i never went anywhere exotic and my water i drink is boiled water. here in queensland the piped water is quite safe.

my favorite activity is swimming and i swim a lot, i wonder if that had any connection with my illness?