A teenager just went viral with a video of her daring stunt. Jumping into sewage-filled sea foam, Izabella Bower faced backlash for her recklessness.
The thick sea foam was left behind by the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which had a severe effect on South East Queensland and New South Wales North Coast.
A teenager’s video plunging into sewage-filled sea foam received backlash from viewers
Highlights
- A teenager just dived into sewage-filled sea foam in Australia.
- Viewers were disgusted by the video, with some calling out health hazards.
- A microbiologist said the sea foam is a "bacterial smoothie."
Image credits: bella.bower
In the TikTok video, which has since amassed over four million views, Bower is wearing a waterproof tracksuit as she stands on steps that lead down to the beach, and thick sea foam can be seen covering the water behind her.
She then dives headfirst into the thick, murky sea foam and stays in the water for around eight seconds. She then gets out of the water with sticky foam covering her body, smiling for the camera. “Actually couldn’t breathe,” she wrote in the caption of her post.
Online users shared their disgust beneath the post, with one saying, “Enjoy being sick”
Image credits: bella.bower
Sparking disgust and anger on social media, Bower’s video received backlash from viewers. “Sea foam is produced from sewer discharge into the ocean,” one user commented. “People will do anything for likes – enjoy being sick,” added another.
One user said, “Crazy that people don’t know what this foam is," while another joked, “When you let your intrusive thoughts win.”
Speaking to news.com.au, Bower said she “didn’t expect it to go viral,” and just posted the video as she thought it was “funny” and wanted her friends to see it.
A microbiologist called sea foam a “bacterial smoothie”
Image credits: bella.bower
Associate Professor İpek Kurtböke, an environmental microbiologist at The University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, has cautioned locals about the sea foam, adding that it could contain more harmful pathogens than a sewage treatment plant.
Speaking to News.com.au, she said, “People need to stay away from the sea foam completely if they want to avoid sickness.
“If they are playing in the sea foam, they may as well dive into a bacterial smoothie. It’s not just through an open wound that one can be infected, but breathing the aerosols is just as risky, so to stay safe, do not swim, play or breathe near it,” she added.
“If they are playing in the sea foam, they may as well dive into a bacterial smoothie. It’s not just through an open wound that one can be infected, but breathing the aerosols is just as risky, so to stay safe, do not swim, play or breathe near it,” she added.
Professor Kurtböke said sea foam contains dangerous bacteria that could lead to infections
Image credits: FRANCE 24 English
Kurtböke noted that sea foam contains dangerous bacteria that can lead to infections, especially in people with weaker immune systems, such as cancer and leukemia patients.
“These foams were proven to contain antibiotic resistant strains of Nocardiae as well, which is a group of bacteria known to cause infections in skin, lungs, brain and the central nervous system in humans and animals (e.g. fish),” she explained.
Professor Kurtböke added, “I am very concerned with people jumping into flood waters to play in the suburbs. Those waters bring so many other pollutants – not only microbes but fertilisers, chemicals… and so on.”
Sea foam is made of organic materials and saltwater
Image credits: FRANCE 24 English
Sea foam is a bubbly layer that forms on the surface of oceans and large water bodies, mainly when seawater is stirred by wind, waves, and currents.
It occurs when organic materials such as algae and decaying sea life mix with saltwater, forming stabilizing substances like proteins and lipids in the process.
While mainly natural processes drive sea foam, pollution can enhance it. Contaminants from sewage and runoff may increase harmful microorganisms in the foam, affecting both marine life and human health.
Online users reacted to Bower's daring stunt in the shared video
