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Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

seattletimes.com

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Re: Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

#11

Post by 2bitencryption »

chipperyman573 wrote: post #4

I had surgery on my sinuses and and have to do this as well. The product I use (Neilmed sinus rinse) has warnings ALL OVER the box, bottle, and in the instruction pamphlet to only use previously boiled water, distilled water, freshly opened bottled water, or water that has somehow otherwise been filtered. It specifically says NOT to use tap water. They also have a website (that has recently been updated to mention th…

> this is really darwinism at work

I think that's a little harsh. This is an old woman who has probably been using the netty pot (or some version of it) for years and years. And while the consequences of this infection are dire, the odds are so, so, so low that you would get this infection even if you tried.

Re: Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

#12

Post by dhimes »

I'm a little confused. Was the tap-water untreated (that is, well water)? Can these damn things survive chlorination? They're a known danger swimming in southern (US)- meaning warm- fresh-water lakes and ponds. But- damn, this is scary. Probably because I also use a neti-pot.

Neti-pots are often used to help alleviate the symptoms of sinusitis. My neti-pot came with packets of salts that you dissolve in the water, which I use. But I didn't think that was required to kill stuff in treated water. I thought it was to reduce irritation when using it- and maybe help kill the bacteria you are trying to rinse away.

Re: Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

#13

Post by chipperyman573 »

neuronexmachina wrote: post #8
chipperyman573 wrote: post #4

I had surgery on my sinuses and and have to do this as well. The product I use (Neilmed sinus rinse) has warnings ALL OVER the box, bottle, and in the instruction pamphlet to only use previously boiled water, distilled water, freshly opened bottled water, or water that has somehow otherwise been filtered. It specifically says NOT to use tap water. They also have a website (that has recently been updated to mention th…

From the article, what's somewhat surprising to me is that she actually used a store-bought water filter: > In the case of the Seattle woman, she likely became infected with the amoebas from her tap water, according to the researchers. Rather than filling her neti pot with saline or sterile water, she used tap water filtered through a store-bought water filter.

You have to use a 0.2 micron filter, it's possible she was using a filter that wasn't small enough.

For reference, most water filter pitchers (britta etc) are 1 micron

Re: Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

#15

Post by mrspeaker »

chipperyman573 wrote: post #4

I had surgery on my sinuses and and have to do this as well. The product I use (Neilmed sinus rinse) has warnings ALL OVER the box, bottle, and in the instruction pamphlet to only use previously boiled water, distilled water, freshly opened bottled water, or water that has somehow otherwise been filtered. It specifically says NOT to use tap water. They also have a website (that has recently been updated to mention th…

Yes they do warn you not to use tap water, or to boil it for 5 minutes, but perhaps if they also said "...else you could get a rare brain-eating amoeba that will kill you" then people would, well... probably stop using their product.

Re: Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

#16

Post by timr »

chipperyman573 wrote: post #4

I had surgery on my sinuses and and have to do this as well. The product I use (Neilmed sinus rinse) has warnings ALL OVER the box, bottle, and in the instruction pamphlet to only use previously boiled water, distilled water, freshly opened bottled water, or water that has somehow otherwise been filtered. It specifically says NOT to use tap water. They also have a website (that has recently been updated to mention th…

A lot of folks have no idea what 2-micron filter is, nor is it documented on their consumer-grade water filter that it is/isn't a 2-micron filter. Likewise, a lot of people don't know how to boil water in a way that will kill parasites.

They should just say "distilled water", and leave it at that.

Re: Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

#17

Post by tj-teej »

chipperyman573 wrote: post #4

I had surgery on my sinuses and and have to do this as well. The product I use (Neilmed sinus rinse) has warnings ALL OVER the box, bottle, and in the instruction pamphlet to only use previously boiled water, distilled water, freshly opened bottled water, or water that has somehow otherwise been filtered. It specifically says NOT to use tap water. They also have a website (that has recently been updated to mention th…

> this is really darwinism at work

That is cruel, disgusting and frankly a misrepresentation of Darwinism.

Re: Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

#18

Post by worldstarhiphop »

2bitencryption wrote: post #11
chipperyman573 wrote: post #4

I had surgery on my sinuses and and have to do this as well. The product I use (Neilmed sinus rinse) has warnings ALL OVER the box, bottle, and in the instruction pamphlet to only use previously boiled water, distilled water, freshly opened bottled water, or water that has somehow otherwise been filtered. It specifically says NOT to use tap water. They also have a website (that has recently been updated to mention th…

> this is really darwinism at work I think that's a little harsh. This is an old woman who has probably been using the netty pot (or some version of it) for years and years. And while the consequences of this infection are dire, the odds are so, so, so low that you would get this infection even if you tried.

If she's too old to conceive, then if anything this is improving her odds genetically.

Re: Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

#19

Post by emersonrsantos »

code_duck wrote: post #3

I wash my nose in such a way frequently because I have an extreme sensitivity to airborne chemicals and fragrances. It’s so uncomfortable to be doused with air freshener, diesel exhaust, cleaner fumes, laundry fragrance, plastic odor or perfume that I rinse my nose out with whatever water is available, which includes taps and drinking fountains. I’ve worried about such an illness happening to me, evidently with good…

Your symptoms are the same of people with untreated nasal polyps. Ask your doctor about nasal corticosteroid spray treatment.

Re: Rare brain-eating amoebas killed woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water

#20

Post by chipperyman573 »

timr wrote: post #16
chipperyman573 wrote: post #4

I had surgery on my sinuses and and have to do this as well. The product I use (Neilmed sinus rinse) has warnings ALL OVER the box, bottle, and in the instruction pamphlet to only use previously boiled water, distilled water, freshly opened bottled water, or water that has somehow otherwise been filtered. It specifically says NOT to use tap water. They also have a website (that has recently been updated to mention th…

A lot of folks have no idea what 2-micron filter is, nor is it documented on their consumer-grade water filter that it is/isn't a 2-micron filter. Likewise, a lot of people don't know how to boil water in a way that will kill parasites. They should just say "distilled water", and leave it at that.

If you're using a medical product that specifics a certain requirement for cleaning fluids you're about to put in your body, you should make sure the filter matches (or exceeds) those specifications. If you're unsure, you can just use distilled water.

In every other situation I would completely agree with you, but when you're dealing with medicinal products you should be careful to follow the instructions (imo)

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