Help Guide Safe Use of Neti Pots and Nasal Irrigation

Patients will ask you whether neti pots and other nasal rinsing devices are safe...due to recent headlines about CNS infections.

These devices use a saline solution to flush mucus and irritants from nasal passages...to reduce symptoms of sinusitis, cold, or allergies.

But they're linked to fatal amoebic infections when used with contaminated tap water. Waterborne amoeba can enter nasal passages and travel to the CNS. In fact, a woman recently died from an infection after regularly using a neti pot with tap water run through a Brita filter.