A woman in Texas has died from a rare brain infection after flushing her nose with water stored in the tank of a recreational vehicle.
This is why you really shouldn’t flush tap (or RV tank) water up your nose for nasal irrigation: the CDC recommends only distilled or sterilized water be used.
Because while N. fowleri likes things lukewarm, it really loves hotter liquids: the kinds sloshing around inside our bodies, for instance.
Any other entryway to the body, and N. fowleri will be politely escorted out by our immune system or burned up by stomach acids.
Most people infected with N. fowleri die within 1 to 18 days after symptoms start.
After using water from a recreational vehicle’s tank to flush her nose, a woman in Texas passed away from a rare brain infection.
Laboratory analysis of the 71-year-old woman’s cerebrospinal fluid revealed that she had an infection with Naegleria fowleri, a small, free-swimming protozoan known as “the brain-eating amoeba,” which causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a deadly illness.
This deadly bug prefers warm freshwater habitats, such as lakes, ponds, and even abandoned swimming pools. The majority of infections happen when swimming or participating in water sports in these locations.
A CDC case report states that “the patient had no recreational exposure to fresh water; however, she had reportedly performed nasal irrigation on several occasions using non-boiled water from the RV potable water faucet during the four days before illness onset.”.
“The patient died eight days after the onset of symptoms, despite receiving medical treatment for a suspected PAM infection. “.”.
Samples taken 23 days after the potential exposure may have prevented authorities from finding the amoeba in samples from the campground water supply and the RV tank.
The water’s disinfectant levels were insufficient, however, according to tests, to stop microorganisms from forming biofilm communities that can shield pathogens like N. the fowleri. Another indication that the disinfectant levels may have been insufficient was the fact that the water was more murky than is advised for drinking water.
For this reason, the CDC advises using only distilled or sterilized water for nasal irrigation, so you should really avoid flushing tap (or RV tank) water up your nose.
Since N. Fowleri prefers lukewarm objects and particularly enjoys hotter liquids, such as those that are sloshing around inside our bodies.
When it gets inside a human body, N. A temperature threshold of roughly 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) is crossed by fowleri, changing the bug from its flagellate state to an insatiable trophozoite, a form in which it is actively feeding and procreating.
any additional body entrance, as well as N. Our immune system will gently escort fowleri out, or stomach acids will burn them up. Its path to the brain, however, is frighteningly simple through the nose.
In order to get to its cerebral target, this hungry pathogen eats away at astrocytes and neurons as it passes through the olfactory epithelium, the membrane that allows us to smell, and then follows the nerve fibers that return scent signals to our brains.
N infections are most common. Within 1–18 days of the onset of symptoms, fowleri die. Headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting are warning signs that can develop into hallucinations, vertigo, confusion, and a stiff neck.
Despite being extremely uncommon, the prognosis is dire: only four survivors have been reported out of 164 cases reported in the US between 1962 and 2023.
According to the report, “this case reinforces the potential for serious health risks associated with improper use of nasal irrigation devices, as well as the importance of maintaining RV water quality and ensuring that municipal water systems adhere to regulatory standards,”.
