Being in the midst of flu season means lots of blocked noses. Congestion is no fun to deal with, and it can sometimes feel like blowing your nose isn’t enough to get out all that gunk.
An easier way to gain relief is by doing a sinus rinse. It involves using a neti pot or squeeze bottle to insert water or saline up one nostril and then allowing it to drain out the other. It may sound uncomfortable, but the end result is worth it.
If going the water route, however, it is super important to use sterile water. Unfortunately, a Florida man paid the ultimate price for not heeding that bit of advice…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the unidentified man decided to use ordinary tap water that had not been boiled to perform his daily nasal rinse. As a result, he contracted an infection that proved fatal.
The infection was caused by an amoeba known as naegleria fowleri which eats human brains. The single-cell organism brings about primary amebic meningoencephalitis which typically results in death within 18 days of showing symptoms. These include severe headaches, fever, nausea, and vomiting in the first stage; and stiff neck, seizures, altered mental status, hallucinations, and a coma in the second stage.
The Florida Department of Health has confirmed that people cannot get infected with brain-eating amoeba through drinking tap water—the infections are only caused if contaminated water enters the body via the nose.
So please, for the love of H2O, use only sterilized water when rinsing your sinuses.
