Nasal irrigation has long been a way to relieve the symptoms of sinus infections and pain. According to Cleveland Clinic, neti pots, rinse bottles and pre-filled containers are all excellent options if you want to try nasal irrigation.
While this was previously thought to be a safe practice, researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the cases of 10 people over the last decade who contracted an infection with the amoeba Acanthamoeba after nasal rinsing and three of them died.
All 10 individuals had compromised immune systems and seven suffered from chronic sinusitis, and “many used tap water for nasal rinsing,” according to the study published on Wednesday in the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal.
Amoeba are single-celled organisms known to cause parasitic infections in humans, including skin and eye diseases as well as deadly brain infections.
Acanthamoeba is present worldwide, inhabiting soil and many types of water, including lakes, rivers, and tap water.
How to safely rinse your sinuses
For those with weakened immune systems, nasal rinsing can provide health benefits such as clearing sinuses and preventing other infections, it can also introduce new pathogens, “particularly if unsterile water is used”.
If tap water is used for rinsing, doctors say it should be boiled for a minimum of a minute, or three minutes in elevations over 1,980m, and cooled before use.
Another study published in the same journal revealed that a 22-year-old Pakistani man who was infected with the amoeba Naegleria fowleri following tap water nasal rinsing that he did as part of a religious ritual.
Brain infections with amoeba can be fatal with very few survivors globally, and the disease also has “no specific treatment”, researchers warn.
But thanks to “aggressive” early medical intervention, the man survived.
The researchers said: “All healthcare providers caring for immunocompromised persons should educate their patients about Acanthamoeba infections, including how to recognise symptoms and how to practise safe nasal rinsing.”