stupid PAM fears/HA in general

[lanerbanana]

hello everyone!!! it's me again, back with yet another HA fixation-are you all ready for this????
brain eating amoebas!!!
alright so, ive had BEA/PAM fears for a really, really long time, way before i joined this forum (although i'd still lurk just to get some peace of mind) and at some times it's gotten so bad to the point where i am afraid to take showers (i still do though-just with a makeshift nose clip) but, lately my fears subside and i'm okay
today though, i went to a birthday party at my dad's family's house, and they have a pool there. well, i swam in that pool, didn't go underwater, just played water polo with my cousins and some of their children, and i was wearing earplugs as noseplugs (i looked silly i know, but i knew i wasnt going to be able to swim if i didnt have them) but they were a bit loose, and a few times i had water splashed in my face and i'm pretty sure i got some amount of water in my nose. not a lot, but probably some tiny droplets.
i got home a few hours ago, and now the fear is starting to manifest itself into the surface of my mind. i'm 90% sure the water was chlorinated, i saw a few boxes of chlorinating tablets around the pool area, but then there's the fear of "what if the water wasn't chlorinated enough??????" the water also wasn't super warm, either. but you all know how HA goes and how irrational it can be. the chances of getting this damn thing are pretty much one in a million and yet still...
i know it's silly but the fear is still there. :weep:

[BlueIris]

The chances are considerably less than one in a million.

[lanerbanana]

hasn't it only been like. 450 cases since like. the 60's?? i mean that's a really long time lol trying to remember that to calm myself down
(love your profile picture btw!!!!)

[BlueIris]

Exactly, yes, you'd be more likely to be hit by lightning!

Also, thanks! An artist friend was broke, so I asked her to draw me a cosmic squirrel :)

[lanerbanana]

!!! oh wow!! <3 how sweet!!
i did a little bit of self care tonight and put myself in a comfy sweater and shorts and ate my favorite meal just to get my mind off of it <3

[BlueIris]

Good plan :) I know you're going to be absolutely okay.

[HelloPanda23]

You can’t get BEA from properly maintained pools. If the pool has circulation, that’s enough to stop naglaeri fowleri from forming in the water. There’s a reason why brain eating amoebas can only be found in lakes, and other bodies of water like ponds that literally don’t move at all. If water circulates, algae, bacterias, and parasites cannot form. Not only this, but if the water was crystal clear and chlorinated, then you’re fine. Since you swam recently, lick your wrist and smell it. If it smells kind of like chlorine or chemicals, the pool was 100% chlorinated. All in all, if the pool was clean and clear, it couldn’t contain amoebas. I’ve had this fear for over a year and only time and experience took this fear away from me. A good trick I used was that I really understood how the amoeba worked its way through the nose. First thing it does is that it gets rid of our ability to smell and taste. If you can barely grasp scents or taste anything, and you’re not sick, then beware for PAM symptoms. If you don’t lose your ability to smell at all, and symptoms start to appear, that cannot be PAM. That should help you cope with your anxiety made symptoms, or at least I hope! ;)
Good luck, and enjoy your week. It’s not worth losing 15 days to this fear, trust me. Crazy fears like this aren’t worth no one’s time, and this is coming from someone who’s wasted days and weeks trying to understand how the damn amoeba works!