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submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

The woman contracted a fatal infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba and died eight days after developing symptoms.

A Texas woman died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba days after she cleaned her sinuses using tap water, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case report.

The woman, an otherwise healthy 71-year-old, developed "severe neurologic symptoms," including fever, headache and an altered mental status, four days after she filled a nasal irrigation device with tap water from her RV's water system at a Texas campsite, the CDC report said.

She was treated for primary amebic meningoencephalitis — a brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, often referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba." Despite treatment, the woman experienced seizures and died from the infection eight days after she developed symptoms, the agency said.

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[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

Can this happen in Sweden as well? 'Cos I clean mine with shower water almost every shower.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I believe the amoeba grows in warm water, which is why hot springs in New Zealand are at risk. So hopefully you're more safe! You might want to check better info than me though!

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

Just pick your nose like a normal person. Sheesh.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

Apparently this is why you can’t actually go in the Roman Baths in Bath.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

For as much as I despise the pool water that comes out of my tap I can at least feel safe using my neti pot.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

pool water or no, it's safer distilled water.

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[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Snorfing amoebae up one's nose turns out to have consequences.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

I wonder if she'd just had rhinoplasty. A friend of mine is in recovery from that; she has to do this kind of sinus irrigation thing twice a day.

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this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2025
507 points (95.7% liked)

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