this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2025
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The woman contracted a fatal infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba and died eight days after developing symptoms.

A Texas woman died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba days after she cleaned her sinuses using tap water, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case report.

The woman, an otherwise healthy 71-year-old, developed "severe neurologic symptoms," including fever, headache and an altered mental status, four days after she filled a nasal irrigation device with tap water from her RV's water system at a Texas campsite, the CDC report said.

She was treated for primary amebic meningoencephalitis — a brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, often referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba." Despite treatment, the woman experienced seizures and died from the infection eight days after she developed symptoms, the agency said.

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[–] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

This is safe, if you boil the water.

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[–] peregrin5@lemm.ee 12 points 3 days ago (2 children)

My libertarian uncle swore basically anything could be cured with a neti pot. He forced me to use one when I was having issues with allergies.

It didn't help one bit and was one of the most uncomfortable experiences in my life. This just turns me off to it even more.

[–] Romkslrqusz@lemm.ee 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Yeah, you’re not supposed to use it when you’re fully congested because the water will just get trapped and sit.

There’s a bit of a learning curve and people hesitating can end up with the uncomfortable sensation of “water up your nose” but it really is awesome and life changing once you figure it out.

[–] peregrin5@lemm.ee 4 points 3 days ago

I'll take your word for it. I'm never doing it again.

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[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Where I live (France) the recommendation is to take lukewarm water, add salt, and that's it.

Is texas water catastrophically bad or am I totally wrong (or both)?

[–] slackassassin@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It was from the water tank of an rv.

But also, the quality of water systems in the us are more localized to smaller regional areas and not uniform state wide. Especially not in a large state like texas.

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[–] tribut@infosec.pub 3 points 2 days ago

Same thing in Germany. Just checked — no warning anywhere on the packaging and I've never heard about anything like this happening.

[–] Romkslrqusz@lemm.ee 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (4 children)

Every neti pot I’ve ever had recommends either:

A) Warming distilled water and adding salt

Or

B) Boiling filtered tap water, adding salt, and letting it cool down to warm.

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[–] PM_ME_WRISTS_GIRL@lemmynsfw.com 10 points 3 days ago

I don't know if brain eating amoebae are a common occurrence in tap water, but it woud explain a lot about Texas.

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

I wonder if she'd just had rhinoplasty. A friend of mine is in recovery from that; she has to do this kind of sinus irrigation thing twice a day.

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