Water Hazards Don’T Worry About The Various Parasites That Are Lurking In The Inland Northwest’S Scenic Lakes They’Re Minor Compared With The Ones Found In Tropical Waters

Something’s in the water.

A lot of creepy little somethings actually. And one of them just might sneak up and get you this summer.

But there’s good news.

The various parasites that can invade your body while you’re frolicking in the Inland Northwest’s scenic lakes are mostly minor league.

It’s true. Compared to this one scary bugger found in contaminated tropical waters, our region’s tiny body-snatchers are a day at the beach.

(Some of our waterborne bacteria and viruses are a different story.)

Check it out. In parts of Africa and South America, there are these nightmarish schistosoma worms. They can penetrate human skin. Then, once inside blood vessels, they produce eggs — lots of eggs. Often these will end up in the bladder or intestines. That’s bad.

But sometimes the eggs travel to the liver, lungs, spinal cord and brain. That’s worse.

And then, well, let’s just say schistosomiasis can flat take the zip out of a pretty summer day.

Around here, the closest cousin to that tiny terror is a wimpy little freeloader that causes cercarial dermatitis, aka swimmer’s itch.

Before accidentally trying out its people skills, this uninvited organism typically spends stages of its life in the bloodstream of waterfowl and in aquatic snails.

Then, thanks to a handy gate-crashing enzyme it secretes from its nose, it can burrow into an unsuspecting lake bather. But, according to a Centers for Disease Control fact sheet, “The larvae cannot develop inside a human, and they soon die.”

Score one for the good guys.

Once under the skin, the doomed cercarial maggots can cause a rash and discomfort. But most lake-goers would agree that’s a darned sight better than hungry, wiggly parasites sitting down for a buffet in the major organs.

No need to start scratching just yet. Odds are, you can take the plunge this summer and emerge just fine.

Most of our area’s lakes tend to be reasonably clean, experts say.

“Millions of people go swimming and wading each year,” reports the CDC. “Most of them don’t get sick.”

So there you go.

But just for the sake of discussion, let’s consider a troubling possibility. What if this isn’t your lucky summer?

Maybe there’s something nasty lurking out there in the unchlorinated water with your name on it.

Perhaps you’re destined for a memorable encounter with Escherichia coli O157:H7 or Giardia lamblia, a couple of rough customers that don’t need size to seem menacing.

That “Jaws” theme you’re hearing in the background? It’s the soundtrack for the image of a baby in a heavily loaded diaper wobbling toward the water’s edge. That kid, with the unwitting assist of a careless guardian, is about to commit what the CDC calls an “overt fecal accident.”

If you could examine a sample of an OFA under a microscope, your own swimsuit might stay dry in that bottom drawer all summer.

Welcome to A Hypochondriac’s Guide to The Lake.

Dr. Roy J. Almeida is no alarmist. But ask him, and he’ll tell you.

Yes, there are some mean microscopic bugs in local lake water. They include the kinds of pathogens that can cause Hepatitis A, shigellosis, salmonellosis, strep, E. coli and, well, the list goes on.

How do they get there?

“Just think of things found in feces,” said the senior epidemiologist at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Humans and animals both, uh, contribute.

The thing is, once in the water these invisible bad guys become diluted. Then they aren’t often present in dangerous concentrations. So it’s not usually necessary to regard your favorite lake as a spicy soup of infectious diseases.

That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to catch something, however.

Think of working on your backstroke in a lake as communal bathing.

Take a relatively small beach, add a large number of swimmers, and you’ve got the potential for trouble.

Feces happen.

It’s a scenario that has been causing health problems since the Middle Ages.

It’s why taking a dip means taking a chance.

For individuals who have compromised immune systems, the risk of infection can be considerable.

Swimming with open cuts isn’t a good idea either.

But what’s the best way to avoid contracting something?

Read what Dr. Steve Thomas had to say and see if you can guess.

“If they’re drinking water out of a lake, they’re pretty stupid and deserve what they get,” said the medical director for Deaconess Medical Center’s urgent care sites.

He was joking. Sort of.

So … Rule No. 1: Don’t swallow lake water.

Rule No. 2: After you’ve swallowed some, try not to swallow any more.

Another CDC fact sheet put it simply: “Germs that get inside your body can make you very sick.”

In this context, that usually means diarrhea.

Lake woes can almost be thought of as a vicious circle of defecation.

But, depending on the specific ailment, the festival of symptoms can feature abdominal cramps, vomiting and seizures. Infections can wreak oozy havoc on eyes and ears, too.

Are we having fun yet?

Parasites such as giardia and cryptosporidium can also enter the body through swallowed water. And before long, they can completely take your mind off tan lines and those new sunglasses.

Suddenly your personality becomes, in a sense, anal beyond belief.

Anyone with a cavalier attitude about ingesting lake water should hear Sacred Heart’s Dr. Almeida talk about the stages of giardiasis. In its way, it’s breathtaking.

“… when they get into the nice, warm small intestine, they come out of the cysts and they develop these little organisms with these little whip-like flagella …” Ready to raise your hand and take the Safe Swimming Pledge?

Because of many variables, you can’t really say Lake ABC is safe while Lake XYZ isn’t, said Dr. Paul Stepak, head of the epidemiology assessment center at the Spokane Regional Health District.

Conditions change.

“It would be very hard to predict where you’ll have a lake-based problem,” he said.

One potential tip-off, however, is what some public health officials refer to as “loading factor.”

A crowded beach on a small, shallow lake downstream from livestock would typically be thought to have a high loading factor. That’s practically a warning sign.

Trained observers agree the safety picture could be improved at many lakes.

For one thing, Stepak would like to see significantly better toilet facilities at waterfront recreation sites. If you’ve read this far, the reason for that should be obvious.

(Still, in the greater scheme of things, poor household hygiene practices and unsafe food-handling are more troubling to him than people swimming with a few malicious microbes.)

Speaking of food-handling, people who have been playing in lake water should wash their hands before preparing a meal. That is, if everyone desires to dine without inviting volcanic dysentery.

Another good idea is showering immediately after getting out of the water, if possible.

Neither Washington nor Idaho have regulations specifically designed for lakefront swimming areas, though water-quality assessments do take place. One reason is that, statistically, drownings and diving accidents can be a more pressing concern to officials in each state.

Yes, a handful of people do get sick from waterborne diseases. “It can happen,” said Stepak. “It has happened.”

But almost all recover.

Thuggish E. coli, potentially life-threatening, presents a special circumstance. Rare outbreaks - there was one at a lake in southwestern Washington last summer - can lead to beach closures.

Nobody wants to write on a postcard, “Hi. Went snorkeling in a vat of fetid waste. Wish you were here.”

There’s a difference between a killer and a nuisance, however.

Gary Fraser is a water recreation specialist with the Washington state Department of Health. One of his kids once got a wicked case of swimmer’s itch. It wasn’t pleasant. But compared to, say, someone breaking his neck diving into shallow water, the societal impact was minimal.

“We have to set priorities,” said Fraser.

For the person making summer fun-in-the-sun plans, this all becomes a matter of evaluating risks. You have to go with your gut feeling.

“Nothing is 100 percent assured safe,” said Steve McMillan, environmental health specialist with the Panhandle Health District. “Recreating in a lake is going to involve more risk than staying home.”

Of course, lakes aren’t the only places to swim.

Julie Awbrey, water recreation program supervisor for the Spokane Regional Health District, said you’re almost always better off in a pool. “You’ve got filtration, you’ve got chlorination, you don’t have contaminated run-off coming in …” Still, she acknowledged that chlorine is no substitute for a switched-on brain.

“People will change their child’s diaper at poolside and then dip the child in the water to rinse him off. Hel-lo! Not a good idea.”

Fecal accidents never are.