Posted on 03/30/2006 6:32:52 PM PST by wjersey
3 years ago, Pat Hyde was plagued by a cough that didn't go away.
A chest x-ray and a CT scan revealed spots on her lungs.
Pat: "I had a big nodule over on my left lung up top, and I had quite a few nodules on my right side." With a history of lung cancer in her family, Pat thought it was cancer, and opted for surgery. After the operation, the biopsy produced a surprise - a bacterial lung infection called MAI complex.
Dr. John Hansen-Flaschen of the University of Pennsylvania says very few people, including doctors, have ever heard of MAI complex.
Yet he sees several dozen cases a year, and almost always in women.
Dr. Hansen-Flaschen: "Many of them otherwise healthy. This may be their only disease. Non smokers as well as former smokers." Symptoms include a nagging cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, and feeling of fatigue. The bacteria is similar to tuberculosis, but is more hardy, and can exist in the soil for years.
It gets into the air and is inhaled. That can happen during gardening, but Dr. Hansen-Flaschen suspects the bug is also in our water supply and may be breathed when people take a shower.
He's seen an increase in cases since the temperature on home water heaters was reduced.
Dr. Hansen-Flaschen: "The water has to be heated to 175 degrees or more at least 2 or 3 minutes to kill the bacteria. Today, our water heaters only heat water to 135 degrees to save energy, to prevent us from being scalded." The treatment for MAI is a very long course of antibiotics - 18 to 24 months. Pat, who is on her second bout with MAI, takes 3 drugs. She's given up gardening, and is careful about her surroundings.
Pat: "I can't go near anybody who smokes or anything like that."
Could it need a warmer environment to grow and that's why it doesn't grow in cold water?
This IS a very interesting article and definitely something to think about (hope for?).
In the meanwhile, I will continue praying for you.
This sounds promising. Think I'll turn up the ol' water heater now! You're in our family's prayers and on our church's prayer list. God bless you.
I've never heard of that - does it cost a lot? Does it heat the water up quickly? I presume if there's no tank, there's no limit of hot water...
Wow, if this is what you have, that would be great not to have to have surgery. I'll continue praying for you - I sure hope you are able to get well soon.
When you turn on the hot water tap a flame goes on that heats the water as it goes through the pipe. It is quick but depending on how far you are from the water heater it can be fast or slow. As far as cost, they aren't terribly expensive but I had it moved to a different place than where my previous hot water heater was, so I had extra plumbing costs. The savings in my gas bill are noticeable but then our old HWH was huge and there are only 2 of us in the house now. I like the fact that I am not paying to keep 100 gallons of water steaming hot 24/7.
Interesting - I might look into getting one of those for our house... I'm curious - why did you have it moved from where the old water heater was?
Oh, how very nice! Enjoy your new closet!
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