A woman in Texas died from a brain infection, simply because she rinsed her sinuses with infected tap water. The unnamed 71-year-old woman died from an amoeba last year, according to the Daily Mail.
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Brain-Eating Amoeba Kills Woman After Infected Tap Water Gets In Sinuses
She most likely was infected through tap water from an RV’s water system on a campground. This is according to the county health department. Still, the area’s tap water is safe to drink, as this terrifying amoeba can only hurt you if it goes through your nose.
According to the CDC, this rare amoeba is called Naegleria fowleri. It’s a one-celled organism that lives in rivers, warm freshwater lakes, and hot springs. Due to its ability to infect the brain and destroy brain tissue, they often call it the “brain-eating ameba.”
In very rare cases, you’ll find this amoeba in recreational spaces like swimming pools or splash pads. Since this campground likely took water from a nearby lake or river, the amoeba was in the tap water.
“If water containing the ameba goes up the nose and to the brain, it can cause an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM),” said the CDC. “Typically, fewer than 10 people a year in the United States get PAM.”
Unfortunately, almost everyone who is infected with PAM dies from it. Out of the 164 reported cases of PAM in the US from 1962 to 2023, only four people survived.
Someone with PAM will notice mental symptoms such as hallucinations, confusion, and lack of attention. Physically, you may feel a stiff neck and loss of balance.
This female victim hailing from Texas isn’t surprising, either. The outlet states that Texas is one of the states with the highest cases of this brain-eating amoeba. Only a few infections happen when infected tap water gets in your sinuses, so it was truly a rare case.
The CDC recommends reducing the risk of infection by covering your nose when diving into fresh water. When visiting a hot spring, keep your head above water. Also, they recommend you don’t dig in shallow water, as amoebas are more likely to live there.
When rinsing your sinuses, it’s best that you use distilled or boiled tap water. Just make sure you let the boiled water cool, of course.