Killed by...brain eating amoeba?

[Rusty Shackleford]

I always blow my nose when I surface. The dive unloads my sinuses.

Perhaps the moral is to blow your nose.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Not until you hit the thermocline, it’s like bath water right now...

Still not as extreme as a surface pond. Quarries tends to be fairly clean and low-nutrient.

I went diving today at Summersville Lake. 84 at the surface.

 

[Fastmarc]

quite many cases which end up in headlines seem to be linked to using neti pots with contaminated tap water. has happened both in the USA and other countries so would be quite a risk to use them with unknown quality water...

Hmm, I often cup my hand and 'inhale' some tap water to wash out my airways when I start sneezing.
I guess I'll stop that practice now...

 

[DandyDon]

According to the news report I saw, it can occur in natural lakes and ponds when the temperatures get really high as they have in recent weeks. Ironically, it's the heat that draws people to the water to cool off.

Old bison wallows in Texas are called Playas because early settlers were attracted to them for water recreation. Early towns on the High Plains failed or succeeded based on how dependable these shallow lakes were in supplying water. I'd hate to drink from one today, but I guess they were better than nothing, and probably a lot cleaner at first, altho e.coli was surely common. I first learned to water ski on one near my house, falling face first at times.

Warm water ponds have always been common across the state, with this pathogen always a risk here. Then we have the coast with its flesh eating bacteria that's difficult to stop without amputations. If you ever have a scratch start looking at all worse after salt water immersion, go to ER ASAP.

Quarries tend to be colder due to groundwater influence.

We have many shallow quarries here with warm water at the bottoms.

Hmm, I often cup my hand and 'inhale' some tap water to wash out my airways when I start sneezing.
I guess I'll stop that practice now...

Sterile saline bottles sold over the counter are probably safe, but yeah abandon that practice. Blowing your nose is safer, and probably a good idea after diving.