Live data from Hacker News

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

seattletimes.com

41–50 of 208 posts

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

#41
post #7

Person dies under unusual, rare circumstances. Happens every day, there are nearly 8 billion of us. Why is this news?

Neti pots and nasal rinse methods in general have become fairly popular. If reporting on this could save other people from becoming victims, it's worth covering.

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

#42
post #16

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.

Now you intrigued me. I might be one of those who don't know how to boil water in a way that will kill parasites

Could you elaborate, please? (I would just bring it to boiling temperature and call it a day)

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

#43
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.

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

#44
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you warm it?

In my experience using saline nasal flushes, having the water at room temperature hasn't really bothered me, as long as I've added the salt.

Someone else responded to my question saying the same thing. I tried using distilled water at room temperature (with the salt) and it REALLY hurt my nose. Feels great when the water is luke-warm. Maybe I am the only one.

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

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how do you boil water properly? minimum period of time?

yes. Get it a rolling boil, and hold it for at least a minute. Longer at higher altitude.

Very little is going to survive once it's over 160 degrees (F). That's "well done" for meat.

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

#46
post #12

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, wh…

The salts are to reduce irritation. Plain water is extremely uncomfortable in your sinuses, but saline is fine. As far as I know they do nothing to reduce contaminants in your water or harm bacteria.

And yet the article mentions distilled OR saline, which definitely raises the question.

If I wake up feeling like crap, it is far easier to use a salt packet than to go to the store for distilled water. The article implies that is fine (but the article may be misleading)

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

#47

I still don't quite understand how tap water in a neti-pot is significantly more dangerous than swimming in local lakes, swimming pool or the ocean. Certainly, you get water in your sinuses from that, right?

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

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

#48

I still don't quite understand how tap water in a neti-pot is significantly more dangerous than swimming in local lakes, swimming pool or the ocean. Certainly, you get water in your sinuses from that, right?

The swimming pool is at least chlorinated, but AFAIK, it can happen in any fresh water.

https://www.kolotv.com/content/news/Child-dies-from-brain-ea...

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

#49
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.

In the case of Neil-Med, the documentation I have retained says to use previously boiled or properly filtered water (they provide some examples) when mixing. And they say not to use tap water. But they don't inform the user of the potential hazard of using otherwise safe-to-consume tap water.

Worse, the bottle (mine is a squeeze bottle) doesn't have any reminder not to use tap water, at all. It would seem this would be worth a large placard on the back of the bottle. The likelihood is low but the danger high; this is the worst kind of risk because it doesn't happen often enough to serve as a reminder.

Post reply on HN