# How likely is it that I'll die due to sinus rinse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697 "2019-01-30T23:10:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697/41 "2019-02-03T21:05:11Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > (snip)Yes but you were going to make that trip anyways to purchase other supplies and groceries. No difference in the odds. Also, tap water can contain chlorine and other irritants. You’ve still got to amortize the risk across all of the items purchased and transported. None of them are risk free. That’s my point; is the risk of using municipal tap water significant? Some people seem to believe that any risk is unacceptable; some are willing to put up with a little risk for the sake of convenience. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697/42 "2019-02-04T21:12:03Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > You’ve still got to amortize the risk across all of the items purchased and transported. None of them are risk free. That’s my point; is the risk of using municipal tap water significant? Some people seem to believe that any risk is unacceptable; some are willing to put up with a little risk for the sake of convenience. And compare that to the risk of not taking the action. Until recently, if you didn’t go to the store to get food for yourself (assuming you couldn’t talk someone you knew into doing so) you were at fairly high risk of starvation. I suppose you could get all your food delivered from Pizza Hut and the local chinese place, which would prevent that. Now, if you don’t want to risk driving to the store (or you can’t for a variety of reasons), there are other options. Which will also serve to get you distilled water at the same time. I think **SamuelA** ’s statement stands. You must get food, so getting distilled water does not carry a risk that you aren’t already having to take. If you are in the extremely unusual (in this day and age) position of producing all your own food, I’d be surprised if you are still on a municipal water system. Is the risk of using tap water significant? That’s probably going to depend on a lot of factors, chief of which is, are you using water from your water heater or cold water? Next, is it summer in a warm state, vs winter in a cold state? (Most of the cases of n. fowleri seem to be from getting water from a freshwater lake or hot spring up your nose, not from neti pots). Note that you don’t even have to go buy distilled water. A jug of tap water, boiled and allowed to cool, and warmed in the microwave for 30ish seconds is all you need to do according to the CDC. Also according to the CDC: > [@](#): > > In the 10 years from 2008 to 2017, 34 infections were reported in the U.S. Of those cases, 30 people were infected by recreational water, 3 people were infected after performing nasal irrigation using contaminated tap water, and 1 person was infected by contaminated tap water used on a backyard slip-n-slide. So, extremely rare but also - approximately 97% fatality rate in known cases. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697/43 "2019-02-04T21:26:15Z")
Thanks, all, for the input. My take is that the risk in using tap water is pretty much negligible, due in part to the source of my tap water (Lake Michigan) and that our water heater is set for something like 125F. Using distilled water would mean I’d have to make an additional trip from the upstairs bathroom to the kitchen (microwave) on the ground floor. There is of course a risk, albeit negligible, of suffering a fatal fall. All in all, I think I’ll risk the tap water. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697/44 "2019-02-04T21:26:26Z")
You can also get nasal rinse with [built-in filter](https://www.amazon.com/SinuCleanse-Filtered-Cleanse-Cleaning-Irrigation/dp/B0146IOMFK/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1549315316&sr=8-3&keywords=nasal+irrigation+filter). Those are supposed to be safe to use with tap water. Personally I don’t like those, as they are harder to clean, and take a while to dry out between use. I use water boiled in an electric kettle. My take is, if people die from it even though the instructions say not to do it, I should avoid it. > [@Zyada](#): > > Also according to the CDC: “…In the 10 years from 2008 to 2017, 34 infections were reported in the U.S. Of those cases, 30 people were infected by recreational water, …” What do they mean by “recreational water”? Swimming pools? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697/45 "2019-02-04T21:53:49Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > Its not the cost of the distilled water, it is the trouble of heating it up every single day. Between getting ready for work and getting the kids ready, mornings are chaos. If this neti pot operation take more than about 25 seconds or more than 10% of my mental capacity, it isn’t going to happen. As the wise oracle once said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”. I’ve used a neti pot with distilled water. I didn’t bother heating it, it was fine sitting in the jug. > [@DesertDog](#): > > Not using one, I didn’t realize you needed to use water with a CPAP machine. On reflection, it would be better to blow moist air up your upper respiratory tract. It is not required - my original CPAP didn’t have a water reservoir, and my current one can be used with or without it. > [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Well, if the round trip to the retail establishment to obtain distilled water is 5 miles, you’ve got [one chance in 10.6 million](https://curiosity.com/topics/your-odds-of-dying-ranked-curiosity/) of dying in a motor vehicle crash on the way, so anything less than that is quite literally saving your life. Everything has a risk-reward ratio, **Anny Middon** just wants to know what it is. As mentioned, if you’re making that trip already, your additional risk for getting the distilled water is lowered, though the principle of dividing risk over reasons for trip (including other stops like going to work) is sound. > [@scr4](#): > > What do they mean by “recreational water”? Swimming pools? I suspect ponds and lakes, but it’s a fair question if pools are included in that. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697/46 "2019-02-04T23:19:40Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > What do they mean by “recreational water”? Swimming pools? Lakes, ponds, hot springs, untreated hot tubs or swimming pools, etc. One of the most recent deaths was a man who had been to a small Central Texas water park last year- it sounds like they were not chlorinating the water the way most public swimming pools were. Since the death, the place has added some water filtration. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697/47 "2019-02-04T23:33:04Z")
What do they mean by recreational water? > [@Irishman](#): > > I suspect ponds and lakes, but it’s a fair question if pools are included in that. “Recreational water includes water in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, water play areas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans.” - CDC > **[Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs) | Recreational Water Illness Prevention...](https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/observances/rwipw_2008/rwi.html)** > > Having fun while you swim this summer means knowing how to prevent recreational water illnesses. Learn how to stay healthy and germ-free while enjoying the water! ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697/48 "2019-02-05T20:22:09Z")
i use distilled water, heated (mainly for comfort, not boiled), but i rinse the neti pot after use with _gasp_ TAP WATER. hopefully that doesn’t mean i’m going to die as a result. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-ill-die-due-to-sinus-rinse/828697.md?page=2)