Do you rinse your nasal passages out with a neti pot? According to the FDA: "Nasal rinsing can remove dirt, dust, pollen and other debris, as well as help to loosen thick mucus. It can also help relieve nasal symptoms of allergies, colds and flu."
The problem comes from using unfiltered tap water in the neti pot. Two people in Louisiana died after rinsing with tap water and becoming infected with Naegleria fowleri, an organism sometimes referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba."
According to the Louisiana Department of Public Health, infections from Naegleria fowleri are very rare. There were only 32 recorded infections from 2000-2010. All but two were from swimming in contaminated water. The other two were infected by water from a "geothermal drinking water supply" -- whatever that means. Naegleria fowleri infection can't be caught from drinking contaminated water.
If you want to use a neti pot or some other type of nasal rinsing (such as a bulb syringe), the FDA recommends using the following to make the saline solution:
- Distilled or sterile water
- Tap water that's been disinfected through boiling
- Filtered water using a home filter with a pore size of 1 micron or smaller
Of course, if you use distilled water in your neti pot and then clean it with tap water, it's a wash (pun intended). Here are the recommendations from the FDA for proper usage of a neti pot:
- Wash and dry hands.
- Check that the device is clean and completely dry before use.
- Use the appropriate water as recommended above to prepare the saline rinse.
- Wash the device with distilled, sterile, or boiled and cooled tap water, and then dry the inside with a paper towel or let it air dry between uses.
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