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Do you realize the risk of “super bacteria” lurking in the water and sand
Like many Americans Adrian Ruiz and his family (Kyle, Texas) decided to spend Father’s Day weekend at the beach. According to KVUE ABC affiliate Mr. Ruiz is now “being treated for a bacterial infection [vibrio vulnificus] contracted during the trip to Port Aransas…that can develop into necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating…He developed a fever that evening [Sat. June 18th] and awoke Sunday with a red rash on his leg that quickly progressed into…fighting to keep his leg.”
“If we would have known that there was flesh-eating bacteria in the water, we wouldn’t have gotten in. (Lashelle Ruiz, USA Today)”
A week earlier someone contracted the same type of infection in Galveston, TX, resulting in his leg being amputated. Doctors suspect the bacteria entered his leg from a scrape on his foot.
According to the CDC:
“Roughly a dozen Vibrio species are known to cause vibriosis in humans, with the most common in the United States being V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, and V. alginolyticus. The Vibrio species that cause vibriosis naturally live in brackish or salt water. People with vibriosis become infected by consuming raw or undercooked seafood or exposing a wound to seawater. Most infections occur from May through October when water temperatures are warmer….Vibrio causes an estimated 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths in the United states every year.”
One of the Universal Laws/Truths that Taoists observed thousands of years ago states that one of the purposes of life (which includes all life) is to live and propagate. What we now call evolution is a continuation of this study that if something is alive, then it will do everything it can in order to survive. We are seeing this today with bacteria and viruses becoming more and more resilient to antibiotics and antibacterial agents. One could safely say that every time we try to kill viruses and bacteria we are in fact giving them a reason to evolve and become stronger. Consider the fact that if man was to create medicine to kill all bacteria and viruses it would also surely kill us as well, since these types of medicine and approaches do not discriminate between so called good and bad bacteria etc… So any bacteria that survive will by nature of this Universal Law evolve and become stronger.
This could be one reason why there has been an increase over the last few decades of people (and pets) becoming infected with these super bacteria and viruses.
The CDC, created a page on their website with a decent list of Prevention Tips:
- Don’t eat raw or undercooked oysters or other shellfish. Cook them before eating.
- Always wash your hands with soap and water after handing raw shellfish.
- Avoid contaminating cooked shellfish with raw shellfish and its juices.
- Stay out of brackish or salt water if you have a wound (including cuts and scrapes), or cover your wound with a waterproof bandage if there’s a possibility it could come into contact with brackish or salt water, raw seafood, or raw seafood juices.
- Wash wounds and cuts thoroughly with soap and water if they have been exposed to seawater or raw seafood or its juices.
- If you develop a skin infection, tell your medical provider if your skin has come into contact with brackish or salt water, raw seafood, or raw seafood juices.
If you are in a group more likely to get vibriosis :
- Wear clothes and shoes that can protect you from cuts and scrapes when in brackish or salt water.
- Wear protective gloves when handling raw seafood.
As a Taoist we would add a few more suggestions:
- Stay out of pools, lakes, ponds, oceans etc… unless absolutely necessary. If you are in a boat, canoe, kayak etc… then do everything possible to stay in the boat. Man was not designed for life in the water therefore we are very susceptible to water born illnesses.
- Assume that any body of water has bacteria that could potentially make one sick or even kill.
- Be especially vigilant when water temperatures are above 68 degrees F, since this particular bacteria thrives in “warmer” water.
- If you must enter the water then make sure you bathe before and after, especially immediately after, to help reduce risk of contamination/infection.
- Avoid raw shellfish
- Only eat shellfish from deep cold water during the fall and winter months. Shellfish produce a type of chemical to help them survive in warmer water which is also toxic to humans. Also, it is easier for bacteria to thrive on seafood in warm water.
- Make sure you clean and properly cook all seafood (all food for that mater). For added protection soak the meat in strong alcohol (vodka, rum etc…) to help clean the meat.
For those of you that love water sports, consider for a moment if you will…When you swim, ski, surf etc… in those lakes, rivers and oceans, the animals that live in that water (or fly above) also use the same water to urinate and defecate. Then consider that sewage (treated and untreated) is frequently pumped into the bays and oceans. So in essence (pun intended) you are swimming in toilet water. Is it any wonder there is so much bacteria?
The above advice also applies to swimming pools, no matter how often you clean them or how much chlorine or bromine you throw into the water. For those that like to swim in pools, ask yourself this before you enter the water next time…Would you take a bath with these people, would you drink their bath water?
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Caution swim at your own risk, has an entirely new meaning
Headlines like these are sure to grab people’s attention: “Unseen killer lurking in Florida waters takes Lake County man’s life” and “Woman gets flesh-eating bacteria at Dallas mud run, goes blind in one eye”. But how many people actually understand the risks, and think that these are just isolated events.
Many people relate to a peaceful walk along the beach, a nice gentle soaking or swim in the ocean-lake-river or pool as a great way to spend a vacation or unwind during the hot summer months. How many people realize the risk they are taking every time they do this? We all know not to jump in head first in shallow water (or if you do not know how deep the water is), never swim alone, don’t wear jewelry while swimming in the ocean, no yellow bathing suits, don’t swim if you are menstruating or bleeding, never swim right after eating etc… Yet, have you ever been told that if you have a cut, go soak in the ocean because the salt water will “clean it”?
For thousands of years Taoists have advised: that life should remain as natural as possible. Fish are designed to swim and live in water, doing so is safe for them, monkeys are designed to swing from trees and doing so is safe for them as well. Problems arise, however, when life, in particular man, begins to do things that we really are not designed to do.
Carson Yeager decided to enjoy a few hours on a pontoon boat and swim in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, within 48 hours he was dead after contracting Vibrio vulnificus. He was only 26 years old.
According to the CDC, Vibrio vulnificus can cause:
“disease in those who eat contaminated seafood or have an open wound that is exposed to seawater. Among healthy people, ingestion of V. vulnificus can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. In immunocompromised persons, particularly those with chronic liver disease, V. vulnificus can infect the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness characterized by fever and chills, decreased blood pressure (septic shock), and blistering skin lesions. V. vulnificus bloodstream infections are fatal about 50% of the time.
V. vulnificus can cause an infection of the skin when open wounds are exposed to warm seawater; these infections may lead to skin breakdown and ulceration. Persons who are immunocompromised are at higher risk for invasion of the organism into the bloodstream and potentially fatal complications. (CDC.gov)”
This particular bacteria can enter the body through any open wound, including scrapes, cuts and abrasions.
In June 2015 a Texas woman participated in a “mud run” and contracted a form of flesh eating bacteria that left her blind in one eye.
In 2013 it was reported that since 2001 there were over 400 reported cases of brain eating amoebas worldwide. Since 1962 more than 30 people have died from brain eating amoebas just in Florida. Naegleria fowleri, can enter the body through any opening (eyes, nose, mouth, ears etc…).
Suggestions were made regarding how to prevent these problems in a prior article on brain eating amoebas. Those tips still apply.
A good general rule, and going back to sound Taoist advice: If you enjoy the water use a boat, if you must swim then bathe before and immediately after, keep your head out of the water, and stay out of the water if you have any type of cut, scrape or abrasion etc… If you like to swim in pools, keep in mind that a swimming pool is no different than a bathtub, just larger. Would you take a bath with those same people in the pool? If you like to swim in the ocean or lakes, keep in mind that you are swimming in the same water that the animals use for their elimination, and they not only live in the water they also die in there as well. Ever had a fish tank, then you know how difficult it is to keep it clean. Can you ever get it 100% clean? Have you ever seen a large hand with bleach and cleaning agents clean a lake or the ocean?
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