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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

#81

Post by brianpan »

michaelbuckbee wrote: post #33

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?

You certainly also can get amoeba infections from swimming.

https://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/acanthamoeba-keratit...

If you're a contact lens wearer, you should be careful using them while swimming or rinsing them with tap water. A hydrogen peroxide cleaner like Clear Care will help kill amoebas.

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

#82

Post by fnordfnordfnord »

cortesoft wrote: post #21
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.

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.

Naegleria Fowleri were found in public water systems in Louisiana last year. I don't know of anyone dying because of it though.

https://www.ajc.com/news/national/brain-eating-amoeba-found-...

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

#83

Post by emersonrsantos »

code_duck wrote: post #76
emersonrsantos wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it distorts the sense of smell and taste - my mother-in-law would smell an annoying floral aroma everywhere, can’t smell certain foods or she would get immediate heartburn, and couldn’t taste salt or taste it too much in certain hours of the day. It’s weird! But we tend to not take our sense of smell and taste so seriously so I think it should be very important to the brain to have a healthy sense of smell and t…

My issue seems to be with amplification and lingering of odors more than distortion. I guess another issue is scents interfering with my taste during and after eating.

Yeah, I think a distorted sense implies amplification or narrow signals as well.

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

#84

Post by jacquesm »

glassesman wrote: post #41
ams6110 wrote: 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.

Sounds like the easiest way to avoid becoming a victim is not to use the product.

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

#85

Post by asynchronous13 »

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 was due to neti-pot usage. I could only find 3 confirmed cases. That's extremely rare.

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

#86

Post by kazinator »

bdamm wrote: post #71
athenot wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If an article is about a "Brain-eating" danger, it captivates a host of emotional responses, mainly as a result of works of fiction. It's even more powerful if it's from something we can't see with the naked eye. From a health perspective, it's also a way to remind ourselves that there are simple precautions to prevent that. We learn from others' mistakes.

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.

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

#87

Post by Tharkun »

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?

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

#88

Post by QuantumGood »

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.

Reduces incidents of mild sleep apnea in conjunction with nasal strips and sleeping on my side. (I determine occurrence of sleep apnea by checking if waking happens between or during sleep cycles.)

Also helps with voice work (I am a voice coach), makes for clearer mask resonance.

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

#89

Post by legohead »

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?

109 cases in a little over 40 years.. yeah, this is more of a freak occurrence. also, the article says they never tested the water, so this idea of the neti pot is just a guess to begin with.

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

#90

Post by harshreality »

scythe wrote: post #72
shawnz wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

No cooking? Even, say, boiling potatoes? I always use filtered water if I'm planning to consume it, but I thought I could get away with the sink if I was throwing it out. That's news to me, I'll have to boil cold water from now on.

I wouldn't worry as much about boiled potatoes as I would something like soaking/cooking grains. It's a matter of your level of concern. I rinse dry goods and and vegetables with tap water, and steam with tap water, but I use expensive water for anything else. Mostly because I don't discard the water. Either the food absorbs all the water, or I accept a mushy, stewy, or soupy consistency.

Steaming is better if you're going to use tap water and discard it. With the food out of the water there's less contamination as well as less nutrient loss.

Filters are not perfect. Reverse osmosis or distillation is better (in theory). Anyone using a filter should pay attention to what it filters. Some filters don't even claim to filter lead. I think Brita and Pur still have multiple filter types that filter different things, and one type isn't a strict subset of the other.

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