Experts seek the cause of 'river nose'

Rollo Tomasi · Since 17 Mar 2005 983 Posts Attractive

Oregonian article in todays paper.
An advocacy group tests the Columbia River to try to pin down the source of recreationists' illnesses.
I know there's a thread on this already somewhere..

KidCorporate · Since 10 Jul 2007 563 Posts Addicted

Crazy... I'm allergy prone and I thought that I was just allergic to something out there. It sucks to think that there might be something in the water that's causing all this.

jbruxer · Since 24 Jul 2005 398 Posts Beaverton, OR Obsessed

I just read that article! Funny thing is I haven't had any issues at all. And I must say that I have sure drank my fair share of the Columbia (not by choice)! Embarassed

STORMRIDER · Since 17 Jul 2007 222 Posts Stoked

spent alot of time in the river...this is new to the Columbia it seems in the last couple of years, but has been ongoing in the Willamette forever Sad

i thought and still do that it is the pesticides/farm run off getting into the river...imho

Spider Monkey · Since 15 Jul 2007 36 Posts Columbia City

I keep getting ear infections and cold like symptons Sad

Doctor said to stay out of the river for a month...like thats going to happen. I'm now wearing ear plugs, hope it helps.

KidCorporate · Since 10 Jul 2007 563 Posts Addicted

Pretty much the only symptoms I get are my nose gets super stuffed up for a couple of days, and my soft palate at the back of my throat is itchy for the same amount of time and maybe a little longer. Some of the other stuff people get sounds downright scary.

Rollo Tomasi · Since 17 Mar 2005 983 Posts Attractive

Hein · Since 08 Mar 2005 1313 Posts Possessed

I'm no doctor but aren't your sinuses supposed to catch
contaminants and then expel them with mucus? So the
symptoms may be due to your immune system working
like it should. Maybe a little harder than normal but isn't
that a good thing?

Also, we assume we are getting this from water but
when it is windy there is a significant increase in particulate
airborne irritants. Maybe a flush with river water makes
us more sensitive to stuff blowing in the wind.

skydiveblake · Since 28 Jun 2006 63 Posts San Diego

Could be those $2 gyros from the Acropylis...

Spike · Since 13 May 2007 1414 Posts Alameda Spelling Expert

From the article:

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6548 Posts Couve / Hood Site Lackey

Good post, I was excited to see the article but then really disappointed after reading. For a frontpage article it doesn't really come to any conclusions or offer anything we didn't already know. Citing online discussions, hmmm why not just read nwkite! Very Happy

Hopefully they follow up when the study is complete.

I'm definitely feeling the fatigue/stuffyness thing this morning after a few brutal crashes in the Columbia yesterday. I always thought I was tired from all the kiting, but when we kited the coast for over a week straight I never felt like this.

The one time I got a little stuffy is after a long sesh in Floras, the only freshwater spot of our trip. I think pollen is probably to blame, since that lake is very prestine, no pollution. I'd guess pollen plays a big role in the Columbia too.

Saltwater is nasty in a way, but its also sterile and a lot better to have forefully injected up your nose. Might even clean you out a bit. Very Happy

KidCorporate · Since 10 Jul 2007 563 Posts Addicted

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2025 Posts Windward

salt water is GOOD for you
I have been addicted to it for over 20 yrs,
It doesn't take long to jones when I've been away
if I have a cold I go kiting and the snot flies

I also get stuffy at Floras and a raw throat
mostly it's the pollen from the shore pines
which is very thick at times

luke · Since 06 Jul 2005 399 Posts Obsessed

Here is how I approach it.

I have been working in the environmental field for 30 years as an environmental engineer and playing in the Columbia for 16.

What is in the Columbia? Everything.

Last year there were 25,643 beach closures in the U.S.

The Columbia above the Bonneville Dam is not monitored by any regulatory agency (U.S. EPA, WA DOE, OR DEQ, BC and Canadian EPA).

hmmm?

The color of the Columbia is brown.

I estimate that 50% of the windsport enthusiasts on the Columbia suffer from River Nose.

I personally know of 2 people that came extremely close to loosing limbs by amputation as a result of serious infections that started out as cuts while playing in the Columbia.

Just last week I heard a kiter was taken to the hospital after getting bad scrapes body dragging across the sandbar and 6 hours later shaking from serious infections.

PLEASE, PLEASE treat any cut as if it will develope into something serious.

Do not go in the water the day after summertime thunderstorms in the mountains or the desert (yeah, lots of "stuff" gets washed in). It is obvious when this happens because the water turns poop brown.

Those of us that work in the environmental field and play in the river, we half joke that in 40 years people around the world will recognize windsurfers and kiters of The Columbia during the 1980-2020s from the weird appendage sticking out of our backs. Haa!

Also, 10 years ago I experienced politics with this issue. Just imagine what a "Closed for Swimming Today" sign at the Event Site would do to the local economy.

Ken

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2025 Posts Windward

we used to think it was why so many windsurfers are
hair impaired
HANFORD
ring any bells
how about the Dalles RR tie plant
I read once it was the largest Superfund site in the US
amazing how clear the water is on the South coast compared to the North coast
roll on mighty Columbia Roll on
it still looks better than the Sacramento
and you haven't seen anything until you Kited at Belmont
after a rain storm

mystrygrl · Since 07 Sep 2006 95 Posts PDX/HR - What day is it?

Interesting article...thanks for posting Rollo. This kind of topic always stirs the emotions... we all want to be assured that our recreational activites (that are supposed to keep us healthy and fit) are not going to result in some long-term poor health consequence down the road ...

But systematic, longer term data is still needed to monitor the levels of pollutants and organic material in the water (there is piecemeal data out there that I am aware of... mostly collected as parts of various funded research projects... not comprehensive)... Simple descriptive reports from folks using the river, while somewhat helpful, will not be enough to determine what the problem(s) is (are)... "river nose" could be (and probably is) due to more than one thing. All of the possibilities suggested here may actually be contributing to the possible "syndrome(s)" ... dr visits and lab test results are probably a bit more definitive (if they test for the right things!)

The Columbia Riverkeeper group seems to be attempting to monitor some bacteria and viruses in the water, which is a good start. They probably deserve our support and help... they are definitely not well-funded. Monitoring a long river with multiple tributaries feeding into it, each of which may be contributing something different to the system... plus a varying climate (that could dramatically change pollen levels)... all amounts to an expensive and time-consuming monitoring process... then it would also need to be linked to health reports. yikes... big $$... bigger than superfund (which are a bit more self-contained sites)!

Sounds like we may eventually need to post certain contaminant levels at various sites in the Gorge (or around US) in addition to wind readings! Sad. Of course, someone's gotta pay to measure 'em! an increase of 1000% in your ikitesurf membership? Sigh... Life's problems are sure tough sometimes.

-- mystrygrl

BTW - the color of the water alone is not the measure one should consider... there are beautiful, clear lakes/rivers that are contaminated, and there are murky, brown bodies of water that are just fine... organic materials (like dirt) can make water appear brown, and algae/plant life can grow causing greenish murkiness too...without consequences to health... however, some nasty toxins would leave the water clear. But yes, stay out of rivers after storms... that's just good sense... we all have smelled the poo-stink by Sauvies during those times!

Rollo Tomasi · Since 17 Mar 2005 983 Posts Attractive

oh hi mystrygrl, Razz

do you do research as a profession... or something like that by any chance?..

O-kayyy..
now, step slowly away from the computer.
(should've know Dr J would step in and give us something just short of a detailed hypothesis.) Wink

Seriously though, good points to consider!