#Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

[an-organized-confusion]

Roman: I want to wriiite. This is SO annoying!

Logan: You didn't get a full night's sleep, therefore your brain hasn't had a timely chance to flush/filter your CSF. In other words, you've cognitively tied your hands and... as Patton would say it, whining and being mean to yourself isn't going to change matters. Your only option is to either rest or be patient.

[Roman throws tantrum anyways.]

[tropic-of-calculus]

I would like to give to the people a medical diagnosis I have had: Cerebrospinal fluid leak. Where your brain fluid is leaking from the brain lining.

Causes crippling headaches that are only better when laying down. You can’t stop throwing up because of the pain, the brain fog is insurmountable, and your thoughts are molasses on a subzero day.

I couldn’t shower on my own, my mom had to shuffle me into the shower and perform hygiene tasks for me. We thought I was dying, we had no idea what was going on. The only way to heal it is either a blood plug, or time.

I'm obsessed with the idea of a sick whumpee being so tired and miserable that they just start sobbing. They can't even explain to caretaker what's wrong because they're so out of it, so caretaker is just left to trial and error.

[neosciencehub]

Maharashtra records first suspected death linked to Guillain-Barre Syndrome; cases in Pune exceed 100

Maharashtra records first suspected death linked to Guillain-Barre Syndrome; cases in Pune exceed 100 @neosciencehub #GuillainBarreSyndrome #Pune #Maharashtra #Healthupdates #Sciencenews #neosciencehub

The first suspected death in Maharashtra from Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) occurred in Pune, where a patient passed away after developing the illness. He died in the Solapur district of Maharashtra while on a personal visit to his hometown. In the meantime, Pune has now reported more than 100 GBS cases. The deceased was admitted to a private hospital in Solapur on January 18 due to symptoms of…

[siam-longings]

Case of an Hydrocephalus Internus, successfully treated by Mercury

First I want to post the following several statements from here concerning a mercury formulation called calomel ─ the author is explaining how such a toxic compound came to practically be deemed a miracle medicine well into the 19th Century: ❝How is it then that calomel, along with other metal salts, was commonly used by physicians for some five hundred years as standard therapy for almost every…

[lawlessspirit]

Case of an Hydrocephalus Internus, successfully treated by Mercury

First I want to post the following several statements from here concerning a mercury formulation called calomel ─ the author is explaining how such a toxic compound came to practically be deemed a miracle medicine well into the 19th Century: ❝How is it then that calomel, along with other metal salts, was commonly used by physicians for some five hundred years as standard therapy for almost every…

[drshalabhsharma1]

Understanding CSF Rhinorrhea: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) plays a crucial role in protecting the brain and spinal cord, acting as a cushion against injury and providing essential nutrients. However, when CSF leaks out of the nasal passages, a condition known as CSF rhinorrhea occurs, posing potential risks to health and requiring prompt medical attention. In this article, we delve into the causes, symptoms, and treatment options for CSF rhinorrhea.

What is CSF Rhinorrhea?

CSF rhinorrhea refers to the leakage of cerebrospinal fluid from the skull base into the nasal passages. This leakage can result from a tear or hole in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, typically caused by trauma, such as a head injury or surgery. In some cases, CSF rhinorrhea can also occur spontaneously without any apparent cause.

Causes of CSF Rhinorrhea:

Trauma: Head injuries, particularly those involving fractures to the skull base, can disrupt the integrity of the membranes that contain CSF, leading to leakage.

Surgery: Certain surgical procedures, such as those involving the sinuses or skull base, can inadvertently cause damage to the membranes, resulting in CSF rhinorrhea.

Congenital Abnormalities: Rarely, individuals may be born with defects in the skull base or the membranes surrounding the brain, predisposing them to CSF leakage.

Idiopathic: In some cases, the exact cause of CSF rhinorrhea remains unknown, and it may occur spontaneously without any preceding trauma or surgery.

Symptoms of CSF Rhinorrhea:

The hallmark symptom of CSF rhinorrhea is the persistent discharge of clear fluid from one or both nostrils. This fluid may increase with changes in position, such as bending forward, coughing, or straining. Other symptoms may include:

Headaches, particularly when lying down

Stiff neck

Sensation of fluid trickling down the throat

Recurrent or severe sinus infections

Taste of saltiness in the back of the throat

It is essential to differentiate CSF rhinorrhea from other causes of nasal discharge, such as allergies or viral infections. Unlike CSF, nasal secretions from these conditions are typically cloudy or colored.

Diagnosis and Treatment:

Diagnosing CSF rhinorrhea often involves a combination of medical history, physical examination, and diagnostic tests. Imaging studies, such as MRI or CT scans, can help identify the site and extent of CSF leakage. In some cases, a specialized test called beta-2 transferrin analysis may be performed on the nasal fluid to confirm the presence of CSF.

Once diagnosed, treatment aims to repair the site of CSF leakage and prevent future episodes. Depending on the cause and severity of the condition, treatment options may include:

Conservative Management: In cases of mild CSF rhinorrhea, conservative measures such as bed rest, elevation of the head, and avoidance of activities that increase intracranial pressure may be sufficient.

Surgical Repair: For persistent or recurrent CSF rhinorrhea treatment, surgical intervention may be necessary to repair the site of leakage. This may involve endoscopic techniques or open surgical procedures, depending on the location and extent of the defect.

CSF Shunting: In rare cases where surgical repair is not feasible or unsuccessful, a CSF shunt may be implanted to divert the flow of CSF away from the nasal passages.

Conclusion:

CSF rhinorrhea is a potentially serious condition that requires prompt medical evaluation and treatment. While it can occur due to various causes, timely diagnosis and appropriate management can help prevent complications and improve outcomes for affected individuals. If you experience persistent nasal discharge or other symptoms suggestive of CSF rhinorrhea, it is crucial to consult a healthcare professional for further evaluation and management.

[drpedi07]

Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus is an excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within brain cavities (Ventricles).

[whumpetywhumpwhump]

Whump trope highly slept on? Cerebrospinal flyid (CSF) leaks.

In simple terms, it's signs of a skull fracture, and clear symptoms are clear fluid and watery blood coming out from the nose or ear. Progressive loss of consciousness is also another accompanying symptom. It's probably not as pretty as other whump tropes like nosebleeds or normal concussions but I just wanted to share it here.

Imagine a whumpee accidentally hit themselves (like, really really hard) and CSF keeps leaking but it's not normal blood so they're panicking and don't know what's happening to them. +progressive loss of consciousness (they faint while calling caretaker who's away!!)

So anyway, TLDR, CSF leaks.

I LOVE CSF leaks in whump!!!! Especially when the whumpee/other characters are initially only vaguely concerned, because they believe that the clear fluid is just mucus from a cold- that is, until whumpee keeps getting worse and worse, and the fluid does NOT let up.

And of course, once they realise just how severe things are, it's probably only because it's got to the point where something serious has happened- whumpee is unresponsive, seizing, etc.

More CSF leaks in whump please!!!

EDIT: might write the first Carter fic about this scenario.... thoughts?

[howtofightwrite]

How effective is clapping (boxing?) someone's ears in a fight? Like on a scale from like mild annoyance to taking someone out of a fight entirely. Something about it always seemed childish but I swear I've read something about the pressure change really messing up your eardrum and inner ear.

Boxing the ears works very well.

Your sense of balance is regulated by a fluid filled organ in your inner ear. Sensory hair cells track the way the fluid moves, or more accurately, fails to move, when your head and body move around. This is the fundamental, physiological basis, for your ability to tell up from down.

Unsurprisingly, when you get that fluid moving and doing things it's not supposed to, your body's ability to maintain your balance starts to experience some “difficulties.”

The inner ear works off some fairly reasonable expectations for how things will behave. Unfortunately, when those expectations are no longer true, for example if someone just delivered a shock of air pressure down both ear canals, it becomes surprisingly difficult to override that information.

So, when you box someone's ears, you can temporarily disrupt someone's balance, and if executed correctly, it can even cause them to crumple to the floor. Now it doesn't actually incapacitate them, and you can power through your inner ear getting slightly stirred from a hit (though, it's not going to be a fun experience. Especially if your body stumbles across the idea that your balance issues are from a poison you consumed, in which case expect to throw up. Though, if you have the ability to weaponize that, being able to literally throw up into your opponent's face is one way to offer a very clear opinion on getting your ears boxed.)

However, that's the shallow end. Boxing the ears can, as you mentioned, cause an ear drum to pop. This isn't quite as simple as it might first seem, as there are a lot of ways this blow can cause temporary or permanent damage to the ear and your ability to hear, ranging from the membrane itself being perforated (though, that's more likely if there's a sharpened object getting driven into their ear, or “ossicular dislocation,” where the bones you rely on to make the ear drum work become separated (and fixing this will require surgery.) However, it can get muchworse if enough force is applied.

There are a lot of delicate bits of bone in this part of the skull (including the malleus, incus, and stapes mentioned in the previous paragraph.) A lot of these are part of the temporal bone as a whole, but breaking parts of that can have some really unpleasant side effects including, and I'm not exaggerating (much), your brain leaking from your ear or sinuses. (Though, it's far more common that this leakage is cerebrospinal fluid, rather than the brain itself which is usually non-life threatening, and those injuries dotend to heal on their own, but in rare cases surgery is necessary to deal with CSF leakage.) Which is to say, it can get reallybad.

So, in a word, “yeah.” Boxing the ears works. A fairly light tap to both at the same times can completely scramble someone's sense of balance for a few minutes, and if you can land the hits, it is a valid way to create an opening for a hasty exit. The more catastrophic outcomes are extremely unlikely unless you're driving a lot more force into their skull, or get supremely unlucky.

Now, “supremely unlucky,” can still happen, and you are battering someone's skull, so boxing their ears isn't exactly, “safe,” but as intentional strikes to the head go, it's one of the less dangerous options. Then again, it's also not trying to do much to your foe.

-Starke

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[lutawolf]

Loveliest Luta, everything is awful but I hope your health is better. I’m in desperate need of some escapism, what might you have to suggest?

Hey my love,

Well, everything looked like it was going back good. Then shit hit the fan again. I have a neurological disorder called diopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). It's a condition where there is increased pressure inside the skull without there being a brain tumor. The exact cause of pseudotumor cerebri is unknown, but it is thought to be related to an imbalance in the production or absorption of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that cushions the brain and spinal cord. 

It is rare (1 in 100,000) but more common in women of child bearing age. However, my daughters have a 50% chance of getting it. Well, my youngest the 9-year-old started having headaches, so I took her to the eye doctor and they found brain swelling. After a terrifying week, we got an MRI, and we find out she has my condition. My twelve-year-old son then goes in for his regular eye exam, and guess what they found. The chances of him having this were less that 1% but here we are.

On the positive, unlike me, it was caught in time and there has been no damage. They are also responding very well to a low sodium diet. However, learning the ins and outs of a low sodium diet for everyone is a bit exhausting, so you can imagine why I just don't have it in me for anything else. This could have been way worse, so I'm thankful for the blessings I've received, but there is a whole lot of adjusting going on.

I have, however, started watching Unnatural Fire and listening to the audiobook of Malicious Empress of Military Lineage. If you try either one of these, let me know what you think.

[pancakeke]

hi you have no real obligation to explain so you can totally ignore this but wtf does this mean, how does that help migraines, im so curious!! your tag was "when i get migraines i gotta take diuretics to juice out my csf which is like the opposite of this lmao"

lmao no worries!! my migraines are caused by increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure messing with my brain (and also eyes but idk if they contribute to the migraines).

a diuretic I was prescribed reduces csf production and therefore its volume. but it's funnier to describe it as though I'm juicing my brain like an orange.

[zmioniks]

(warning this post is a rage post about dumb sexist joke)

Alr so i heard this fucking joke a few many times and and i m venting

Joke that i refer to (or even worse is when people think it is a fact) is the "men have larger brain mass so they are smarter" which is completely untrue becouse while on average men do have larger brain mass by 10% that doesn't mean shit

Simply because the female brain is more compressed/aka has more neuron cells in smaller area becouse that male brain has more cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), meainges and spercitin and all of those are shock absorbers or simply put on average only difference is men are 10% harder to knockout. That is only fucking difrance and aslo that is an adaptation that happens during someones life time

If i hear this dumb joke one more time i will put that person shock absorbers to the test

(my class recently learned about brain and i keep hearing this dumb joke)

[covid-safer-hotties]

Reference saved in our archive

Key Points Question What factors are associated with the acceleration of brain atrophy and progression to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) based on long-term longitudinal data for individuals with normal cognition at baseline?

Findings In the cohort study, 185 participants with normal cognition underwent a mean follow-up of 20 years with brain magnetic resonance imaging scans. Type 2 diabetes and abnormal amyloid-β concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid were associated with accelerated brain atrophy and an earlier progression to MCI.

Meaning These results support the importance of identifying individuals who have accelerated brain atrophy to optimize strategies to prevent MCI.

Abstract Importance It remains unclear which risk factors accelerate brain atrophy along with a progression from normal cognition to mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Objective To examine risk factors associated with the acceleration of brain atrophy and progression from normal cognition to MCI based on long-term longitudinal data for middle-aged and older adults.

Design, Setting, and Participants Data for this cohort study were extracted from the Biomarkers for Older Controls at Risk for Dementia (BIOCARD) cohort, initiated at the National Institutes of Health from January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2005, and continued at Johns Hopkins University from January 1, 2015, to October 31, 2023. All participants were cognitively normal at baseline. The participants whose structural magnetic brain imaging (MRI) of the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) measures were available for over 10 years were included.

Exposures Longitudinal structural MRI of the brain and measurement of CSF biomarkers for Alzheimer disease pathology (ratio of amyloid β peptide 42 [Aβ42] to Aβ40, tau phosphorylated at threonine 181, and total tau).

Main Outcomes and Measures Annual change rates of segmental brain volumes, Kaplan-Meier survival curves plotting time to event for progression to MCI symptom onset, and hazard ratios (HRs) determined by Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Results A total of 185 participants (mean [SD] age, 55.4 [8.4] years; 116 women [63%]) were included and followed up for a maximum of 27 years (median, 20 [IQR, 18-22] years). The groups with high levels of atrophy in the white matter and enlargement in the ventricles had an earlier progression from normal cognition to MCI symptom onset (HR for white matter, 1.86 [95% CI, 1.24-2.49]; P = .001; HR for ventricles, 1.71 [95% CI, 1.19-2.24]; P = .009). Diabetes was associated with progression to MCI (HR, 1.41 [95% CI, 1.06-1.76]; P = .04), as was a low CSF Aβ42:Aβ40 ratio (HR, 1.48 [95% CI, 1.09-1.88]; P = .04), and their combination had a higher HR of 1.55 (95% CI, 1.13-1.98]; P = .03), indicating a synergic association of diabetes and amyloid pathology with MCI progression.

Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study of middle-aged and older adults, higher rates of volume change in the white matter and ventricles, along with the presence of diabetes and a low CSF Aβ42:Aβ40 ratio, were identified as important risk factors for the progression to MCI. These results support the importance of identifying individuals who have accelerated brain atrophy to optimize preventive strategies for progression to MCI.

[stropharian-world]

It's about time I finished his character info.

I've been drawing this puppy for two years (wtf how?!) and I keep on delaying his development, but now my boy is growing and needs some proper attention from my pencil. Besides, I have way too many stories in my head and those need to come out.

Open Flesh Rick's Info Dump under the cut (long text):

Open Flesh Rick (derivative from band name) / OF Rick

This Rick never got around to discover Portal Technology. His early adult life was spent living in the garage of kind roommates, and he used his self-taught engineer and chemist skills to produce small explosive devices and recreational drugs, so he could later sell to sustain himself of rent and resources for his experiments, and music gear. 

His main and solely aspiration in life was (and still is) music: he has always wished to be in a band. 

However, in his late twenties he got abducted by an unexpected sudden visitor in his garage: this body hunter, who looked exactly like him but a few years older, didn’t leave him much of a choice but to tase him and bring him to one of the dark labs, possibly non associated with The Citadel of Ricks.

Rick got experimented on, by the hands of a head scientist Rick, who’s main project was to create different ways for Ricks to be able to access portal technology without being reliant on an external device. He got implanted with a bionic portal fluid containing disk, along with several bionic vertebra of his spine, all containing bionic induced portal fuid, as a replacement for his human CSF (Cerebrospinal Fluid). He was brainwashed, and his neural pathways catered to access this new portal technology on command.

However, this experiment got interrupted by an explosion in the building provoked by another Rick’s rebellion’s attack on other Ricks, and after the scientist’s quick get away, Open Flesh Rick was left to die in the ruins of the lab, being nothing more than a vegetable-like failed experience.

Luckily for him, a Birdperson - Birdperson L-355 (aka Blue Birdperson), was doing a low key recon trip there, gathering tech and equipment for their own Birdpeople’s Rebellious agenda, and he happen to find this Rick, unconscious and barely alive. Being kind hearted and naive, he took Rick to his home planet, where his people provided him with care and healing, despite him not remembering anything or being able to provide any recollection of his life.

It didn’t take long for the matriarch of the Birdpeople to consider this human a liability for their planet, because whoever created that technology could easily try to retrieve him at any point - explaining that he could be considered a Person of Interest by both The Citadel / Unknown Organization and the Galactic Federation. 

He was taken to Dimension H-810, more specifically to planet Têrra H-810, for it’s resemblances to Earth, and the lack of GF jurisdiction. Blue Birdperson traveled with him in a shuttle provided by the Bird People, and stayed with him for a while. 

Emotionally speaking, he’s a very confused and traumatized person. Not only for having this unknown technology implanted in him, but because he feels like he doesn’t fit anywhere. His amnesiac status of not knowing who he is nor where he’s from, along with having his CSf partly replaced with the green fluid, making him neurologically unstable, created a such a turmoil in his mind, that left him to seek all sorts of destructive behavior, making him and his new friend Blue Birdperson to quickly drift apart. His personality is unstable, impulsive, and reckless. 

He did manage to keep on playing music, with a bass guitar he created himself. Apparently, and luckily, some of his faculties and intelligence were slowly being accessible by him, and he didn’t waste any time of making use of those - creating and selling weapons in the black market, and playing his nights away. 

Upon the opportunity to join an audition for rock bands, this conflicted with BP’s desire to keep him safe. Rick was supposed to stay low key and out of sight, and BP feared getting into a band and playing at bars would leave him exposed to possible threats, and eventually expose his own people's whereabouts. This created a rupture even further in their relationship, along with BP’s deep traditional customs, making him leave again for his home planet and dimension. 

While trying his luck in his almost non-existent musical journey, he connected with another Birdperson from that dimension, Birdperson H-810. This older man not only had no connection to his people, he despised everything related with laws and the government. And being in a band with his friend mutant Squanchy, their musical interests just hit perfectly. 

This led quickly to a band partnership and romantical relationship. Rick, not knowing who he is, not belonging anywhere, felt safe and comfortable with someone who didn’t care about origins or backgrounds. And so their story together began. 

NOTES: Rick found out his name was Rick Sanchez, due to a reading bio printed in his arm, possibly from the years he got experimented on. He proceeded to black out both his scars and bio tagged arms. 

Against a better judgment, his drugged out and wasted behavior leaves him to perform/ walk around shirtless many times, exposing his bionic portal fluid disk. Birdperson’s laid back behavior does nothing to prevent this, nor is worried of the consequences of this actions.

They have a small shitty one-bedroom apartment, and when they can’t get around to make enough money for it, they’ll sleep wherever they can, often using Squanchy’s music practice storage room to crash. Rick always keeps a small lab station wherever he lives.

It wasn’t until one day, against Birdperson’s desire of Rick to keep himself in the dark and staying who he is, they managed to collect enough credits to access a very shady technology that would resurface his memories of being abducted and experimented on. This would give him confirmation of the real responsible ones for his situation, and possibly his original dimension name.

After this revelation, whenever he gets around it, his focus shifts into trying to discover how to complete the process of the technology he has in him, and figuring out how to access it. 

[justkidneying]

Infections of the CNS

We're talking about meningitis and encephalitis. Both of these can be caused by either bacteria or viruses. Both of them are bad, but some are worse. I'll get into how these conditions happen, what they present as, and how they're cured.

So first off, how is shit getting to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)? It can be a hematogenous spread, which means it moves through the blood from other parts of the body. It can get to the body via inspiration (air droplets), bites, or through the placenta. Direct infection happens from trauma or surgery, which opens up the CNS and lets stuff get right to it. Finally, you have neurotropic spread. This means that a virus can travel through the nervous system along the nerves (rabies, polio, and mumps do this).

Meningitis

This is an infection of the meninges (the lining of the CNS). Risk factors are close contacts (barracks, dorms, prisons), unvaccinated people, immunosuppressed people, those under 5 and over 65, and alcoholics. For symptoms, you're going to look for neurological deficits, positive Brudzinski and Kernig sighs (look them up, it's hard to explain the positions), skin lesions, and cranial nerve deficits.

You can tell if it is caused by a virus or a bacteria in a few ways. First, opening pressure. This is basically the pressure inside the cerebrospinal fluid (measured via lumbar puncture).

*quick note: there is a controversy regarding lumbar puncture, as it is believed to precipitate brain herniation in cases of increased intracranial pressure. This is why it is recommended to get a CT before a lumbar puncture. However, you can treat with empiric antibiotic therapy without having the following labs*

In bacterial meningitis, it's increased. In viral, it can be increased or normal. Then we have lab work. We need to measure the protein and glucose. Bacterial has increased protein and low glucose. Viral has normal protein and normal/increased glucose. Viral will also cause a high white blood cell count.

So, between these two, bacterial is worse. Bacterial meningitis kills about 1 out of 6 people, and 1 in five have serious complications (according to the WHO). These patients need immediate antibiotic therapy. For adults, this is vancomycin and ceftriaxone IV. Vanc is for your gram positives (including MRSA) and rocephin does negative. Once you have the CSF culture back, you can narrow the treatment.

The actual fatality of bacterial is based on the type of bacteria. S. pneumoniae kills about 20%, N. meningitidis kills about 10%, as does Group B strep.

Viral meningitis presents with fever, rash, headache, neck stiffness, and photophobia. The most common cause is an enterovirus, which is spread via the fecal-oral route (college kids are gross lol). It can also be caused by coxsackievirus (foot and mouth disease), Eastern Equine Encephalitis (1/3 will die, onset is sudden), Western Equine Encephalitis (altered LOC, sudden fever, N/V), and HSV 1 or 2 (bizarre behavior, insomnia, personality changes, taste hallucinations). For treatment, it's really just supportive care.

For both of these, you need to make sure you maintain the airway, oxygenation, and give fluids.

I'll also note that you can have meningitis caused by fungi or parasites. These are typically chronic meningitis (compared to the above acute types). Cryptococcus neoformans and tuberculosis are the most common types of fungal. The most common parasites are pork tapeworms and rat lungworms. The pork tapeworm is caused by eating undercooked pork, and causes seizures, cysts in the brain, and lesions/calcifications of the brain. You usually treat this by cutting it out, placing shunts, and giving albendazole + steroids. The rat lungworm comes from eating undercooked shellfish (particularly in the Southern US), and causes N/V, neck stiffness, and a rash.

Encephalitis

This is inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. It can be viral, parasitic, or bacterial, but bacterial isn't very common so I'm not going to talk about that one here (there isn't a statpearls on it lol). Some patients get this and are asymptotic, while others die. The symptoms are fever, headache, seizures, and altered mental status. You can also see personality changes, hallucinations, and cognitive deficits.

There's so many different viruses that can cause this. You have HSV, West Nile, enteroviruses, EBV, CMV, HHV, measles, mumps, rubella, St. Louis, EEE, WEE, dengue, and rabies.

We already talked about the tests earlier, so I won't go over them again. You can also do an MRI or CT to look for lesions that are common with certain viruses.

For treatment, it's really just supportive. There is no specific therapy for CNS viral infections. Except for HSV. Then you can give acyclovir. Herpes hates acyclovir. Some people recommend starting all patients with encephalitis on this, and it can't hurt so what the hell. For CMV (aka herpesvirus 5), you can give ganciclovir + foscarnet. If the patient is having seizures, valproic acid or phenytoin may be considered.

Parasitic encephalitis is fucking awful. Crazy deadly. You're fucked. You got N. fowleri, which is an ameba (idk what the fuck that even is other than the devil's spawn) that lives in freshwater. It causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) and is 100% DEADLY. The first sign is a loss of smell, as the fucking thing enters your body through the nose. Then within 5 days you go into a coma, and within 2 weeks you're dead.

B. mandrillaris is a another piece of shit ameba granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE). It's only about 90% deadly SO DON'T WORRY. Symptoms start with a wound that won't heal and WEEKS TO YEARS LATER you have confusion, trouble walking, trouble speaking, and DEATH. But it can be treated early with rifampin and fluconazole.

Then you got racoon roundworms. These come from the soil and undercooked unpasteurized eggs. Seen in kids, especially those with Pica. It causes nausea, fatigue, liver enlargement, lack of coordination and muscle control, blindness, and coma. Do you know why it causes blindness? Because the fucking worm gets in your fucking eye. Goddamn worm larvae in your goddamn eye (i need to lay down). But yeah, treat that shit with albendazole.

Finally, we got gnathostoma. Another fucking nematode. This fucker comes from undercooked fish and birds, and you can treat it with albendazole and ivermectin (wow something ivermectin is actually made to treat).

End Notes

Sorry if this is long, but I got one more thing for you. Brain abscesses, which should be on the differential diagnosis for the above conditions. You got the blood fluke and the lung fluke, worm bullshit things that get up in your shit. You can get them from eating raw crayfish, and you treat with praziquantel.

Okay, that's actually it. Hope you enjoyed :D