Below is an article I recently found. I have many times over the years irrigated my sinuses with warm tap water. In fact, I have had a cold for the past week and have done so on several occasions. But not anymore. The truth is I find it to be completely effective for flushing out thick and stubborn congestion as well as being comforting to the interior of the nose. My new practice is this: boil 8 ounces of water and pour into a cup with one-fourth teaspoon of salt. Then I leave a thermometer in and check on it periodically until the temperature falls to 110 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Then irrigate.
What follows are excerpts from the article from http://www.dailymail.co.uk.
Louisiana's state health department issued a warning about neti pots - which look like mini watering cans, that are used by pouring salty water through one nostril. It follows two recent deaths - a 51-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man from the 'brain-eating amoeba' Naegleria fowleri.
Both victims are thought to have used tap water, instead of distilled or sterilised water as recommended by the manufacturers. Dr Raoult Ratard, Louisiana State Epidemiologist, said: 'If you are irrigating, flushing, or rinsing your sinuses, for example, by using a neti pot, use distilled, sterile or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution.
'Tap water is safe for drinking, but not for irrigating your nose.'
The very rare infection typically occurs when people go swimming or diving in warm freshwater lakes and rivers.
In very rare instances, health experts said such infections may also occur when contaminated water from other sources, such as from an inadequately chlorinated swimming pool or when people irrigate their sinuses with devices like neti pots.
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Hi, JB.
I read the article you posted from the Daily Mail on the potential for Naegleria fowleri in Neti pots if they aren’t used properly and was astonished that it has caused two deaths. I wasn’t aware of the existence of the brain-eating amoeba in tap water because I have always assumed that if it is safe for drinking, it is safe for other uses as well. Clearly, for sinus and nose irrigation, it is critical to use sterile water, especially when using Neti pots. I wasn’t aware of the news out of Louisiana or of the warning on improper Neti pot use, so thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I think you might enjoy this video on the same subject. Using news coverage from several sources, it discusses the warning that was issued and explores how tap water containing the deadly parasites can penetrate the thin bone between the sinuses and the brain, causing an infection that leads to meningities. I think your readers might appreciate more information on the dangers of improper Neti pot use and I hope you will consider embedding the video in your post.
http://www.newsy.com/10236/
Thanks again for sharing.
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