Neti Pots

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Although they can really help you please read the article below.

Cedar fever season has arrived in Austin, and many people are pulling out their

neti pots to cleanse their irritated sinuses. The ceramic device, which looks

like a genie lamp, also is used to ease cold symptoms and ward off sinus

infections.

But after two deaths in Louisiana this year from a brain-eating amoeba that

implicated tap water, several health officials and doctors are urging people to

use distilled, sterile or boiled water that has cooled. The Louisiana Department

of Health and Hospitals issued a health advisory about neti pot use earlier this

month after a second person died from primary amebic meningoencephalitis , or

PAM, a rare brain-destroying infection caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba.

PAM is almost always fatal and moves fast, with initial symptoms, including

headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and stiff neck, appearing within a week.

Until this year, U.S. deaths from PAM have been reported after victims had swum

in lakes, streams and other fresh water. The two Louisiana deaths are believed

to be the first caused by another source.

Both the 51-year-old DeSoto Parish woman and the 20-year-old St. Bernard Parish

man used well water in their neti pots, said Faust, a spokeswoman for the

Louisiana health department. Neither had been swimming, Faust said .

" We're not discouraging the use of neti pots, " she said. " We're only simply

saying if you're going to use them you need to use distilled water, sterile or

boiled water. "

The water should be boiled much longer than usual, 20 minutes versus the usual

three to five minutes for normal cooking, she said. Other health authorities

said one minute of boiling generally is sufficient.

Drinking tap water contaminated with the amoeba does not cause harm.

Consequently, the Austin Water utility does not test for the amoeba, spokeswoman

Jill Mayfield said.

There were no PAM deaths in Texas this year. In 2010, a Tarrant County child

died from the disease, according to Van Deusen, spokesman for the Texas

Department of State Health Services.

Officials with the state health department and the Austin/ County Health

and Human Services Department said that because the disease is so rare, they are

not issuing warnings or alerts. However, they do advise neti pot users to fill

their pots with distilled, sterile or boiled water. Afterward, users should

rinse the device with water that has been distilled, sterilized or boiled and

leave the pot open to air dry, Van Deusen said.

Dr. Lieberman of Austin, who specializes in treating allergies, said he is

giving patients who ask the same advice.

" They're used a ton, " Lieberman said, and " I've had a few people ask me about

this. To be on the safe side, they should use distilled water. "

Some patients use them several times a day rather than taking medication, he

said.

" You would hate to lose the benefits of neti pots " because of fear, Lieberman

said. " Reducing the need for antibiotics is really important. "

Not everyone believes using distilled or sterilized water is necessary.

" I think it's perfectly fine also using tap water, " said Eben Soliz, a physician

assistant with Allergy and Asthma Consultants in Austin. " People have been using

regular tap for years, and you don't see huge reports of fatalities. ... Water

is water. "

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends water that is

distilled or sterilized or boiled for one minute (at elevations above 6,500

feet, boil for three minutes) and left to cool. Or it can be filtered, using a

filter with an absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller.

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