cw death

A Florida resident has died of a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba after using unboiled tap water to clean their sinuses, local and federal officials say.

The Florida Health Department said the case involves a resident of Charlotte County but specific details were not immediately released. The CDC said the patient died on Monday.

The resident, whose identity has not been made public, is believed to have contracted Naegleria Fowleri after using unboiled tap water to rinse their sinuses daily, according to the CDC.

“DOH-Charlotte, as part of a multi-agency response, is continuing to investigate how this infection occurred and is working with the local public utilities to identify any potential links and make any necessary corrective actions,” the health department said.

Naegleria Fowleri can infect people when water containing the single-celled organism enters the body through the nose, usually while swimming or diving in ponds, lakes or rivers. In rare cases it can also be found in pipes connected to tap water.

“When water contaminated with Naegleria is sniffed up the nose, the ameba can travel to the brain,” according to the CDC website. “This causes the disease Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), which destroys brain tissue and usually results in death.”

Symptoms usually occur between 1 and 12 days after infection and may include headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms may progress to a stiff neck, confusion, seizures and other neurological symptoms.

An infection with the brain-eating amoeba is nearly always fatal, killing 153 out of 157 patients since the early 1960s. Most cases were found in southern U.S. states, especially Texas (39) and Florida (38).

Although Naegleria Fowleri is a heat-loving ameba and is usually found in warm freshwater environments, recent infections have also been found in northern U.S. states as cooler regions have become warmer and drier.

  • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Always happens like once a year and freaks me out for a couple days even though I know the math.

    If you’re gonna use a Nettie pot boil your water first. This is not the only reason. Also you mostly just shouldn’t use Nettie pots.

    • Tachanka [comrade/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      even though I know the math.

      An infection with the brain-eating amoeba is nearly always fatal, killing 153 out of 157 patients since the early 1960s. Most cases were found in southern U.S. states, especially Texas (39) and Florida (38).

      ok getting it is very rare but still scary

      • refolde [she/her, any]
        ·
        2 years ago

        THE CHANCES ARE LOW BUT NEVER 0 :screm-a: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

        • panopticon [comrade/them]
          ·
          2 years ago

          That also goes for the water quality standards for any other pathogen, the aim is to minimize the odds of catching it. Kind of disturbing if you think about it too much.

    • robot_dog_with_gun [they/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      iirc flushing your sinuses works for some problems but you need to be safe about it and you probably shouldn't do it often enough to justify owning a dedicated pot for it.

      • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        Yeah if you’re going to flush your sinuses you’re probably better off using a saline rinse, both because they come sterile and it won’t fuck up your nose

      • Tachanka [comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        i had a Ear/Nose/Throat doctor suggest a netti pot, but they specified to only use boiled water or distilled water. People are talking about netti pots ITT but nobody is talking about humidifiers... are those ok I wonder? Wikipedia said the amoeba has to go through your cribiform plate, which is a porous bone between your nasopharynx and brain.

        • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          edit-2
          2 years ago

          According to a short google “There is no evidence that Naegleria fowleri can spread through water vapor or aerosol droplets, such as shower mist or through a humidifier”

          You pretty much have to shoot a good amount of contaminated water up into your nasal passages

          • dallasw
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            deleted by creator

        • Owl [he/him]
          ·
          2 years ago

          I don't think you'll get amoebas out of your air humidifier, but you'll sure get legionella.

        • jackal [he/him]
          ·
          2 years ago

          You can get humidifiers that actually boil the water into steam to sanitize it. Costs more in electricity and initial price than an ultrasonic humidifier, but then you don't need to use distilled water and don't have to worry about mineral dust all over your room

    • Shoegazer [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      Can I use bottled water for shit like that or CPAP? People keep saying "bottled water is just tap water," but I've been using that for my machine :scared:

      distilled water is cheap, but I mean... I don't think I want to keep buying it

      • ToxicDivinity [comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        The cpap humidifier has to turn the water into vapor for you to breath it in I think that would kill stuff. Also you can use tap water in your cpap if you boil it first

        • iconicshitposting [any]
          ·
          2 years ago

          The reason you use distilled water is because of mineral buildup boiling it will still leave a gross film on the chamber since the boiled water still has solutes.

        • Gucci_Minh [he/him]
          ·
          2 years ago

          The humidifier probably doesn't get to high enough temp to sterilize it, they evaporate water through large surface area or ultrasound. Using distilled water is still better so you don't get scale on the tank and stuff.

        • kissinger
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          deleted by creator

      • Bloobish [comrade/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        Bottled water has to be treated first before it's bottled, however if you want to be safe there's always boiling it or using water treatment pills that will dissolve.

      • SerLava [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I don't use tap water because of the incredible amount of salt in my tap water 😌

          • SerLava [he/him]
            ·
            edit-2
            2 years ago

            America

            It's not saline like sea water it just deposits a thin layer of salt and scale on things when it dries

    • SaniFlush [any, any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      The one time I tried using one of those it didn’t really clear the sinus infection I had

      • Blottergrass [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        Lots of "stuffed" noses are actually inflamed blood vessels, which are further inflamed by all the blowing.

        • SaniFlush [any, any]
          ·
          2 years ago

          I like how most of our nose related natural reflexes are self destructive