When enjoying the activities around a lake, river, or hot spring, don’t forget to take precautions as temperatures break records beneath the surface and at higher lattitudes than ever, like Minnesota.
Just as you wear sunscreen, wear nose plugs and keep heads above water, close your mouth behind a wake when wakeboarding, or just stay out of the sun’s rays entirely and enjoy the shade. Protect your children during the dog days of summer.
Colleagues, please keep Naegleria flowleri in mind when evaluating patients who come in with headaches and fever in the summer. Always check for neck stiffness on forward flexion, and if there is any doubt, even when fresh water exposure is not recalled (distraught parents don’t always remember & kids won’t always tell), do a lumbar puncture and include a wet prep for Naegleria and Naegleria PCR (you may need to request the lab send it out). If you don’t look for the diagnosis, you can’t report it. If it’s not reported, it’s considered too “rare” to fund research for rapid diagnostics and a CURE. Please help.
