Blooms Formed by the Blue Green Algae on the Water may Not be Friendly and can Cause You Harm, Check Before Swimming | Cebu Travel and Housing Guide

The blue green algae are microcospic organisms you usually see on lakes and streams, technically called as cyanobacteria. Under certain conditions, they thrive in abundance in warm, shallow, undisturbed, nutrient-rich surface waters that receive a lot of sunlight. You may notice some blooms that tend to discolor the water or produce floating mats or scums on the water’s surface. The blue green algae blooms called as benthic blooms may also form on rocks, along the shoreline, and at the bottom of a water body. If the water is blue-green, green, yellow, white, brown, purple, or red, has a paint-like appearance, or if there is scum on the water surface, they could be harmful.

 

Exposure to any blue green algae can cause undesirable health effects to people including animals when blooms are touched, swallowed, or when airborne droplets are inhaled. However, some may produce toxins while some do not. Exposure to high levels with their toxins cause
► diarrhea
► nausea or vomiting
► skin, eye or throat irritation
► allergic reactions or breathing difficulties

 

Exposure of tese things may happen while you are
► swimming
► showering or bathing
► wading
► fishing
► boating in areas with blue-green algae blooms
► swallowing water
► drinking or eating blooms or toxins
► contact with the skin
► eating fish caught from the affected areas
► when airborne droplets are inhaled.

 

In addition, pet and livestock illness or deaths can happen if animals consume large amounts of water containing blooms, scums or benthic mats.

 

Safety tips
Never drink water that is not treated. Lower your risk by not using surface water for drinking, preparing food, cooking, and making ice. There are a lot of contaminants in untreated surface water such as blue green algae, algal toxins and more.

 

Even if you are treating surface water yourself with water filtration, chlorine, ultraviolet (UV) light, or other treatment, your water may still may not be protected from toxins such as the blue green algae.

 

Source of protein
On the other hand, blue green algae is being used as a source of protein, but contain no more protein than meat or milk. They produce blue green colored pigments and are high in protein, iron, and other minerals. They have been used as food for several centuries in Mexico and some African countries. In the US, they’ve been sold as supplements since the late 1970s.

 

Eat blue green algae products that are grown only under controlled conditions. There are two kinds, spirulina and a variety known as AFA. Researchers found that the AFA variety can significantly increase the production of human stem cells in the bone marrow, available as a supplement or a powder and can be found online.

 

People use blue-green algae for treating high blood pressure and as a protein supplement. It’s also used for high levels of cholesterol or other fats (lipids) in the blood, diabetes, obesity, and many other conditions. However, there is no good scientific evidence to support these other uses.

 

Only use products that have been tested and are free of contaminants such as heavy metals, liver toxins called microcystins, and harmful bacteria.

 

Source:
FAQ Harmful Blue Green Algae by health.my.gov
Blue-Green Algae – Uses, Side Effects, and More by WebMD
Effects of blue-green algae extracts on the proliferation of human adult stem cells in vitro: a preliminary study by National Library of Medicine pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

 

 

 

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