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

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

#131

Post by novia »

arvinjoar wrote: post #128
bonestamp2 wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention, hot water tanks are a prime facility for some of these pests to grow while most people have no idea they should avoid their home hot water for anything other than washing. It should not be consumed in any way... this is why coffee makers specifically tell you to use cold water.

Pretty sure that is because of metals. Living things die when boiling anyway

The temperature of a typical hot water tank is 120-140 degrees Fahrenheit, which is significantly less than the boiling point of water, 212 degrees Fahrenheit. If the water tank temperature is just a little lower, at 115 degrees, it's the prime temperature for these buggers.

Also, this might be a fun read for you: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermophile

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

#132

Post by SquareWheel »

asynchronous13 wrote: post #85
angry_octet wrote: post #59

I'm stunned at how many people are commenting that they will continue using untreated water. You can end up having your brain eaten and die, I can't think of a PSA any more convincing.

There's been ~100 cases in 40 years. That's less than 3 people per year, so it's very rare. There's about 10 shark attacks per year in the U.S. Now that you know that, will you stay out of the ocean forever? Or will you maybe take the risk and go for a dip if you go on a beach vacation? edit Plus, of those 40 cases the vast majority are from swimming in lakes. So there's only a handful of cases where the infection wa…

>Now that you know that, will you stay out of the ocean forever?

No but I might avoid areas known to host sharks.

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

#133

Post by grahn »

kazinator wrote: post #86
bdamm wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, but, if I took every simple precaution I know of to prevent all of the unlikely but known conditions, I doubt I'd get anything done in a day. Or have much fun. * Avoid cars. * Wash hands after exposure to public transit and before touching one's face. * Always wear sunscreen when exposed to the sun. * Don't wear contact lenses. * Wash hands after exposure to dust of any kind. * Wear mask during moderately poor…

> Don't walk in the north-east (insanity causing ticks). More recently: insanity and meat allergy causing ticks.

Well, you should have "avoid eating meat" on that safety list anyway, so that is almost helpful.

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

#134

Post by jeremyjh »

cortesoft wrote: post #34
gfodor wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In practice you don't need to use warm water. I do twice daily saline sinus washes with distilled water and it's pretty low maintenance. Tap would be easier but I've always found the idea of using tap water for this to be gross so it's never been an attractive idea.

Oh man, if the water is room temperature it really hurts my nose.

Do you use the saline packets? That makes it much easier on your nose. I only have to use mine a few times a year but I have a bottle of distilled water that I just use at room temperature and its fine.

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

#135

Post by astrange »

girzel wrote: post #43
capkutay wrote: post #2

Sounds like she was using a neti-pot. I thought most of the neti-pot products made it pretty clear that you're supposed to use previously boiled or distilled bottled water. Maybe they need to make it more clear that the consequences of using tap water can be pretty dangerous.

We've got a neti-pot-like thing that comes with a built-in filter. I don't worry about it past that.

A filter is not good enough to remove microbes.

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

#136

Post by kachurovskiy »

shawnz wrote: post #68
cortesoft wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do, but I am never sure how that is supposed to be practical. You need to use warm water, which is easy with tap water, but hard to do quickly with distilled or boiled water. I know it has risks, but I still use normal tap water. From what I have read, all of the cases are from people using well water, never from city provided, chlorinated water. It actually says this in the article, too.

You shouldn't be using water from the hot tap even just for drinking or cooking, let alone putting in a neti pot. Water from a hot water tank can contain high levels of dissolved contaminants since it sits in your plumbing system for extended periods at high temperatures.

Yup. In houses that are not connected to the central heating, hot water travels through many more systems in your house than the cold water. Some of those systems can be pretty nasty e.g. when I disassembled my circulation pump, the water-immersed rotor assembly was leaking black goo.

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

#137

Post by jeremyjh »

dom96 wrote: post #66
cortesoft wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do, but I am never sure how that is supposed to be practical. You need to use warm water, which is easy with tap water, but hard to do quickly with distilled or boiled water. I know it has risks, but I still use normal tap water. From what I have read, all of the cases are from people using well water, never from city provided, chlorinated water. It actually says this in the article, too.

Can you explain why you use a neti-pot? I don't know anyone who uses one and I don't really understand the reasons behind it.

For me it basically cured a several-years long bout of hay-fever symptoms (constant congestion, could never get it all the mucus out) over a period of just a couple weeks of usage. I use it now just a few times of year whenever I get a cold that causes congestion, because its such a relief to get that crap out of your nasal and sinus passages.

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

#138

Post by astrange »

wozer wrote: post #65
hokumguru wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lake swimming is the primary way people are infected with brain-eating amoeba. It is a fresh-water amoeba that is killed by chlorine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naegleria_fowleri

Can this happen to anybody, or only to people with a weakened immune system?

Infection is universally fatal even with treatment, and your immune system actually makes it worse.

https://www.iflscience.com/brain/brain-eating-amoeba-kicks-f...

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

#139

Post by novia »

Tharkun wrote: post #87

I don't get the scare mongering in this discussion. People are saying to always boil the water, to not cook with hot tap water, etc. Don't these people bathe in hot tap water? Don't they drink cold tap water? Do they all live in areas with super unsafe tap water? Or is there a specific danger that comes from the water going up your nostrils? (Which can easily happen while bathing) What am I missing here?

There is a specific danger associated with the water going up your nose. Things that go up your nose have better access to the blood brain barrier. Don't snort unboiled water kids.

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

#140

Post by User23 »

How hard would it be to design a microwave water still? I steam things in my microwave all the time. It's not really my area of expertise, but I imagine it wouldn't be super difficult to design a glass (or similar) vessel that would collect condensate after the microwave shuts off.
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