Woman dies from tap water netipot use

[Emergent]

Rare brain-eating amoebas killed Seattle woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water. Doctor warns this could happen again | The Seattle Times

Moral of story: only use sterile water in a netipot!

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

As a side note, one of our summer camp docs hated neti pots and those Neil Med thingies with a passion. Apparently the nasal mucosa bypasses the blood-brain barrier...

We use Neil rinse bottles and have never had a problem but we boil the water first and then ad the salt to make saline. The actual bottles are tossed out every couple of months and replaced. On a side note I was once out of the salt packets and tried to rinse my sinus with plain boiled tap water. It was incredibly painful where as the saline rinse doesn't hurt at all.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I use town water as opposed to well water, assuming that the chlorination will kill all the little brain eating bugs.

[Bonstemps, EMT-P]

This is one of the reasons you must boil your water in New Orleans ...

[nursel56]

"When I operated on this lady, a section of her brain about the size of a golf ball was bloody mush."

That quote wasn't in the story I read, gah!

But it did provide a counterpoint to the other weird medical story this week. The blood clot a guy coughed up that turned out to be a casting of the right bronchial tree. It haunts me that the first person to see that was very likely his critical care nurse.

[Chrispy11, ASN, RN]

I've also gone swimming in lakes (probably had amoebas too) and got water in my sinuses. Glad those were the regular kind I gues.

Not that long ago there was a television program about three kids who got amoebas from swimming in lakes. Two died. From what I recall, southern states.

[OldDude]

*reads wide-eyed, then shrugs and fills Neil Med with warm tap water/salt packet for daily rinse as usual*

Oh no!! The amoebas could be eating your brain at any moment!!! Go check the mirror...is your smile symmetrical? Eyebrows raise together? Eyelids not drooling? How's your speech? Gait stable? Escape while you can!!

[OldDude]

This is one of the reasons you must boil your water in New Orleans ...

We'll be there for the Sugar Bowl but I'll only be drinking Bud Light so I hope I'm safe!

[Bonstemps, EMT-P]

We'll be there for the Sugar Bowl but I'll only be drinking Bud Light so I hope I'm safe!

Oh lucky you!!! And yeah there's a reason why alcohol is a preferred liquid! Boil yo house water or drink bottled! Enjoy dat bowl!

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

Oh no!! The amoebas could be eating your brain at any moment!!! Go check the mirror...is your smile symmetrical? Eyebrows raise together? Eyelids not drooling? How's your speech? Gait stable? Escape while you can!!

I like to live on the edge, Old Dude.

[Golden_RN, MSN]

I use town water as opposed to well water, assuming that the chlorination will kill all the little brain eating bugs.

No, city water treatment does not prevent this type of infection. Tap water is supposed to be safe for DRINKING, not for pouring into your sinuses. Please use sterile/distilled water only.

[BedsideNurse]

I would argue the moral is just don't use them. Those things are DISGUSTING!