Texas Woman Dies from Brain-Eating Amoeba After Rinsing Sinuses with Tap Water
An elderly woman in Texas died after contracting a fatal brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating ameba, from rinsing her sinuses with non-sterilized water. The CDC warns to use distilled, sterilized, or boiled water for nasal irrigation and to take precautions when swimming in warm freshwater to prevent infection, which is almost always fatal.