Using a Neti Pot? Make Sure Your Water is Sterile

The Louisiana Department of Health is warning residents to make sure they use only distilled, sterile or previously boiled water in their neti pots and to rinse and dry them after each use. The warning comes on the heels of two Louisianans exposing their brains to a deadly amoeba while performing nasal irrigation.

The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, can be found in contaminated lukewarm tap water as well as lakes and ponds. If it becomes lodged in a person's nose, it can end up in the brain and cause an infection that is lethal in 95 percent of cases.

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