Safe Neti Pot Use: Dos and Don’ts
Below is an article from NPR about a recent death in Louisiana suspected to be from someone who ignored the principles of Safe Neti Pot Use by using polluted unboiled tap water. Before anyone gets too freaked out, let’s look at the facts.
1. The people live in Louisiana, a state with a poor record for providing clean drinking water to its citizens. Do the live in a rural area? City water has nasty things like chlorine you don’t want up your nose either, but less likely to have amoeba.
2. What was the health of the deceased; how was their immune system.
How to Use Your Neti Pot Safely: What Kind of Water Should You Use?
Of course this is something to take seriously, but before you stop using your neti pot here is all you have to do to be safe.
1. Use distilled, purified, or boiled water.
I really do not drink the tap water anywhere unless I absolutely have no choice.
2. Make sure you clean your neti pot with soap and water and hot water between use;
The end of that thing was in your nose, so clean it well.
3. Allow your Neti Pot to air dry completely between use.
As the Dr. in the article points out, “if you let them dry completely, the amoeba won’t live long….”
That’s all you have to do to get all the wonderful benefits the Neti pot imparts.
Here is the NPR article:
Washing noses with neti pots or squeeze bottles has become increasingly popular as a home remedy for colds, allergies and sinus trouble. But it’s not such a great remedy if it kills you.
Now that two people have died from infection with brain-eating amoebas after using neti pots, doctors are warning: do not put tap water up your nose.
“Drinking water is good to drink, very safe to drink, but not to push up your nose,” says Raoult Ratard, state epidemiologist for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.
Two residents of his state have died after using neti pots this year, the first known deaths associated with neti pots. “The first one could have been a fluke,” Ratard told Shots. But now that we have a second one, the only explanation is the use of the neti pot.”
The first death came in June, when a 20-year-old man died of encephalitis caused by infection with Naegleria fowleri. That amoeba is common in rivers and lakes, but only very rarely causes brain infections.
Back in August, we reported on several deaths in children who had been jumping or diving in fresh water. But since adults are less likely to be doing cannonballs, they’re also less likely to be infected.
Then in October, a 51-year-old Louisiana woman died of encephalitis. The doctor thought to ask if she used a neti pot. Both her brain tissue and her home’s tap water tested positive for the microbe. Ratard says: “They found the amoeba, the lady was using a neti pot, and had no contact whatsoever with surface water.”
Thus the new warning from Louisiana:
If using a neti pot or other nasal irrigation device, use distilled or filtered water. Keeping the device clean is crucial, too, Ratard says.
A neti pot, which looks like a small genie lamp, can be safely washed in a dishwasher, but squeeze bottles and other devices need to be scrubbed. All need to dry between uses. “If you let them dry completely, the amoebas are not going to survive long,” Ratard says.
A quick survey of neti pots and squeeze bottles finds that the instructions recommend using boiled, distilled or filtered water.
But like so many simple hygiene instructions, it’s one that’s easy to let slide. The prospect of death by brain-eating amoeba, rare though it is, should provide enough motivation to follow the rules.
