Tap Water Used in Neti Pots Tied to Rare, Fatal Brain Infection

Neti pots are small vessels that are filled with water and saline solution and used to flush the sinuses. Two people in Louisiana died last year from a rare brain infection contracted after using neti pots containing tap water to flush their sinuses.

The infection, known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, occurs after water containing the amoeba Naegleria fowleri enters the nose and travels through the olfactory nerve into the brain. Although the infection is extremely rare, it is almost uniformly fatal.