strep infection from river water??

Water and Eye Infections
Years ago I used to train on the Red River in Winnipeg which at the time was quite polluted. When I was first learning to paddle K1, K2 and K4 I use to take frequent swims. I developed eye infections that a specialist was unable to treat and that took over two years to clear up. Given the original posters illness, I wonder if there are not a host of illnesses that we are unwittingly exposing ourselves to if we are unaware of the quality of the water that we are paddling in?



Unfortunately, water quality is devastating other species, and particularly, amphibians. And while it hasn’t yet gained a foothold in NA, the WHO recently reported that the primary carrier for the avian flu is believed to be the feces of migrating wild ducks.

Heather
E-mail not working, late for work, INS working on a new system. If it were me I’d go and stay someplace warm and dry, not paddle in rain, etc. But if I could go, I would. Take care, Terry

thanks Terry…
I wimped out and decided not to go, which I already regret because I really wanted to spend time with Jill and it was my Pnet 1 year anniversary paddle! But I feel the way you feel right BEFORE you get sick, and maybe that’s the same feeling you get right as you’re getting better, but I decided to not risk it. Remember how damp it is there anyway? And I would never want to get a motel room - I would want to camp, so all that together means I wimped out. So no New Year paddle for me this year. Bleh.



Let’s watch the weather and maybe my next paddle will be your next paddle too! I still want to host you on a visit to the Illinois - I have the raincheck!

Chicken!
You made the right decision, Heather. You gotta remember, I’ve had several episodes of paddling withdrawl this year and am IN ONE NOW! If it wern’t for Margaret, I’d be paddling NOW, AMA (against medical advice). Looks like you’re smarter than me. Hope you get to feeling better. Feb 10 is when I will be allowed to paddle “Legally.” Hopefully we’ll be in the midst of one of those Feb. thaws we sometimes get! WW

Paddling with drawl is southern pastime.

I Needed a Bit of Humour!
Thanks g2d! WW

saltwater here carries a lot of
nastsy stuff also. some of the fishermen and flats guides have been getting suposed “staph” infections here in the keys. they seem to be hard to rid by most accounts. The flats guides seem to be the most bewildering, since they rarely handle fish that much and don’t have the usual cuts and scrapes the rest of do. They also tend to fish farther away from land sources in areas one would consider “cleaner”. maybe it’s the constant poling of thier boats?, I’ve been lucky and haven’t contracted any funk especially being under water most of the time. as for the ears; luke warm water only, no alcohol or qtips ever, good advice from my hyperbaric Navy doc. at least it’s not that flesh-eating bacteria found in menhaden scools in Virginia and North Carolina.now thats scary stuff.