Emily Dubinsky

thedailywhat:

One More Thing To Worry About of the Day: Two men in Louisiana are believed to have died as a result of a brain-eating parasite they contracted after using a neti pot full of warm water to cleanse their sinuses.

While the cause of death is still under investigation, officials in the state have issued a warning to residents who use neti pots to boil their water in order to kill the parasite, Naegleria fowleri.

“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,” said Dr. Raoult Ratard, a Louisiana-based epidemiologist, who added that drinking tap water is perfectly safe as the amoeba does no harm when consumed orally.

“Naegleria fowleri infects people by entering the body through the nose,” says the Centers for Disease Control. 

This typically occurs when people go swimming or diving in warm freshwater places, like lakes and rivers. In very rare instances, Naegleria infections may also occur when contaminated water from other sources (such as inadequately chlorinated swimming pool water or heated tap water <47°C) enters the nose. Once the ameba enters the brain, it causes a usually fatal infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

[livescience / rawstory.]

Reblogging for Jim.