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Neti pots, nasal rinsing linked to another dangerous amoeba. Here’s what to know.
For years, scientists have known that people who use neti pots can become infected with a brain-eating amoeba if they use the wrong kind of water. On Wednesday, researchers linked a second kind of deadly amoeba to nasal rinsing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report that for the first time connects Acanthamoeba infections to neti pots and other nasal rinsing devices.
Officials also renewed their warning that extremely rare, but potentially deadly, consequences can come from flushing nasal passages with common tap water.
“We published this study because we want people to be aware of this risk,” said the CDC’s Dr. Julia Haston.
What are neti pots?
Neti pots are one of the better known tools of nasal rinsing. They look like small teapots with long spouts, and usually are made of ceramic or plastic.
Users fill them with a saline solution, then pour the liquid in one nostril. When it comes out the other nostril, it can drain the nasal passage of allergens and other bothersome contaminants.
Neti pot use in the U.S. has boomed in the last couple of decades, driven in part by the increasing prevalence of allergies and other respiratory diseases, market researchers say.
There also are other methods of rinsing nasal passages, including specially shaped cups and squeezable plastic bottles.
Why you shouldn’t use tap water in neti pots
Tap water in the U.S. is treated to meet safe drinking standards, but low levels of microscopic organisms can still be found in it. It’s usually not a problem when people drink the water or cook with it, but it can pose more of a danger when tap water is used for other purposes — like in humidifiers or for nasal irrigation.
CDC officials, citing a 2021 survey, say about one-third of U.S. adults incorrectly think tap water was free of bacteria and other microorganisms. Nearly two-thirds say tap water could be safely used for rinsing their sinuses.
The CDC recommends using boiled, sterile or distilled water.
If tap water is used, it must be boiled for a minimum of one minute —or three minutes at higher elevations— before it is cooled and used, officials say.
Rare illnesses and nasal rinsing
More than a decade ago, health officials linked U.S. deaths from a brain-eating amoeba —named Naegleria fowleri— to nasal rinsing. More recently, they started to note nasal rinsing as a common theme in illnesses caused by another microscopic parasite, Acanthamoeba.
Acanthamoeba causes different kinds of illness but is still dangerous, with a 85% fatality rate in reported cases.
“These infections are very serious and even life threatening,” said Haston, who was lead author of the report published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The new study focused on 10 patients who fell ill between 1994 and 2022, three of whom died. Researchers say they can’t be sure how the patients were infected, but they noted several commonalities: All had weakened immune systems and practiced nasal rinsing.
Seven patients reported nasal rinsing for relief of chronic sinus infections, and at least two of them used neti pots. Two other patients did nasal rinsing as part of a cleansing ritual that is part of Indian tradition.
What is Acanthamoeba?
This amoeba can be found naturally all over the environment — in lakes, rivers, seawater and soil.
It can cause diseases of the skin and sinuses, and can infect the brain, where it can cause a deadly form of inflammation. The microorganism also has been connected to nonfatal but sight-threatening eye infections, sometimes through contaminated contact lens solution.
U.S. health officials have identified about 180 infections from the single-cell organism since the first one was diagnosed in 1956.
In the vast majority of cases, researcher don’t know exactly how people became infected. But in reviewing cases in recent decades, CDC researchers increasingly received information that a number of the patients had done nasal rinsing, Haston said.
Research also has indicated the amoeba is common in tap water. A study done in Ohio in the 1990s found more than half of tap water samples studied contained the amoeba and similar microorganisms.
“It’s very likely that we’re all exposed to Acanthamoeba all the time,” she said.
NEW YORK — Timothée Chalamet made a surprise appearance Sunday at his own look-alike contest in Manhattan.
At least one person was arrested after a large crowd formed and police broke up the event in Washington Square Park.
Chalamet posed for photos with his doppelgängers, some of whom came dressed as his characters from the movies “Wonka” and “Dune.”
The look-alike contest was one of several such competitions hosted by the YouTube personality Anthony Po, and it promised $50 for the winner. As word spread on social media, thousands of people RSVP’d.
From “a silly joke” to “pandemonium”
Stefan Jeremiah / AP
Minutes after the competition started — and before Chalamet arrived — police ordered the group to disperse from the park. Organizers were hit with a $500 fine for an “unpermitted costume contest,” and police said one person was issued a summons for disorderly conduct.
“It started off as a silly joke and now it’s turned pandemonium,” Paige Nguyen, a producer for the YouTube creator, told The Associated Press.
The group relocated to another park, and the audience eventually crowned Miles Mitchell, a Staten Island college senior, as the winner.
“I’m excited and I’m also overwhelmed,” Mitchell said. “There were so many good look-alikes. It was really a toss-up.”
The contestants were asked to demonstrate their French skills, about their romantic plans with Kylie Jenner, and what they would do to make the world a better place.
WESTON – A small group of loyal customers gathered in Weston Saturday morning to thank a pharmacist who is relocating as Walgreens closes the location where he served the community for almost three decades.
The celebration was led by an 11-year-old boy who shocked the pharmacist by presenting him with thousands of dollars that he raised as a thank you gift.
Weston Walgreens closing
In the midst of corporate cutbacks at Walgreens, the location on Boston Post Road is closing permanently. So a small group came out to thank the pharmacist at the store.
“It’s humbling. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing,” said veteran pharmacist Bob Hesselberg, who has worked at the store for nearly 30 years. “I don’t want to retire, even though I am 75. I don’t want to retire. I’m not ready for it.”
Hesselberg is moving on to a store in Waltham. The sendoff was led by 11-year-old Aarav Khanna, whose school bus routinely drops him off right across from the Walgreens location.
“I’ve seen the amount of kindness and hard work he puts into his job,” Khanna said.
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Money raised for pharmacist
Khanna got the idea to raise money for Hesselberg as a going away present. And the total grew quickly. Thanks to the community, Kanna was able to present Hesselberg with a check for $6,000 on Saturday, leaving the pharmacist in shock.
During the Saturday celebration, a young girl gave a handmade card to Hesselberg, who people in the community call “Pharmacist Bob.”
“You walk in, he not only greets you by name, but he wants to know how your family is, and how is that medication you had last time, and how are you doing? And he means it,” customer Carol Ott said.
The Weston Walgreens closes in the middle of November. Hesselberg hopes some customers will follow him to Waltham, but he worries about some of the older residents driving that distance, especially since the chain won’t be doing home delivery anymore.
“I’m gonna miss everybody. And I’m very grateful for all of this. And thank you so much,” Hesselberg told the crowd.
CBS News
Harris tells Philadelphia church election will “decide the fate of our nation for generations to come”
Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Philadelphia Sunday as the countdown to election day nears one week.
Harris, who spent several days in the Delaware Valley over the past week, spoke at the Church of Christian Compassion in Philadelphia on Sunday morning and will hold a campaign rally in the city later in the night.
“In just nine days we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come,” she told the congregation.
Several minutes into her speech, some shouting broke out in the crowd. Harris paused during the disruption. “That’s why we fight for our democracy. Every voice is important,” she said while the outburst was quieted.
Harris went on to encourage the Philadelphia church to lean on faith in the days leading up to the election, and urged worshippers to use their feet to get to the polls.
“Here in Pennsylvania, right now each of us has an opportunity to make a difference. Because in this moment we do face a real question. What kind of country to we we want to live in,” she said. “The great thing about living in a democracy is we the people have the choice to answer that question. So let us answer not just with our words, but with our works.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Harris visited the Famous 4th Street Deli in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood before attending a town hall in Delaware County. Earlier in the week, the vice president sat down with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney in Chester County in the first of three moderated conversations in battleground states.
During that conversation, Harris appealed to Republican voters who are on the fence about voting for former President Donald Trump, and claimed he used the presidency as a way to “demean and to divide” Americans.
“I think people are exhausted with that, rightly,” Harris said. “And it does not lead to the strength of our nation to tell American people that we must be suspicious of one another, distrust one another.”
On Monday, Harris will harness the star power of some of her biggest supporters during a benefit concert at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, according to multiple sources.
Twenty-time Grammy winner Bruce Springsteen will headline a concert and a rally with former President Barack Obama as part of the Harris campaign’s effort to mobilize voters in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.
Speaking to CBS News Philadelphia’s Joe Holden, Harris said she’s “honored” to have Obama’s support on the campaign trail. “And people like Bruce Springsteen, to have their support, and of course he is an American icon, I think it just shows the breadth and depth of the support that we have,” Harris said.
When asked if any other big name supporters are planning to turn out for the event Monday, Harris said with a laugh, “I have nothing to report at this moment. Stay tuned, however.”
Earlier this month, Springsteen endorsed Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
