Brain-Eating Amoeba in Neti Pots Monday, December 19, 2011 -
Brain-eating amoeba in a neti pot? Yes, warns the Louisiana
Department of Health. Two recent deaths from the brain-eating
amoeba Naegleria fowleri have been linked to use of neti pots.
In both cases, the victims used tap water to fill the pots. Neti
pots are a good way to clean and clear the sinuses. But the pots
should be filled with sterile water — either distilled water, or
previously boiled water — with a small amount of non-iodized
salt added according to instructions. In June, a 20-year-old man
in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, died from brain infection with
the deadly amoeba. And this month, the state health department
reported that a 51-year-old woman in DeSoto Parish died from the
same rare amoeba infection. Both deaths came after the victims
irrigated their sinuses with neti pots filled with tap water.
Tap water isn't supposed to be crawling with amoeba. Proper
chlorination kills nearly all such bugs. But "nearly all" isn't
the same as "al