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Comment by dhimes | Hacker News Reader

I'm a little confused. Was the tap-water untreated (that is, well water)? Can these damn things survive chlorination? They're a known danger swimming in southern (US)- meaning warm- fresh-water lakes and ponds. But- damn, this is scary. Probably because I also use a neti-pot.

Neti-pots are often used to help alleviate the symptoms of sinusitis. My neti-pot came with packets of salts that you dissolve in the water, which I use. But I didn't think that was required to kill stuff in treated water. I thought it was to reduce irritation when using it- and maybe help kill the bacteria you are trying to rinse away.

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Yes, it was well water. According to the article:

> Amoebas may be found in fresh-water sources around Puget Sound such as wells, but aren’t present in city-treated water, according to Liz Coleman, a spokeswoman for the Environmental Public Health division of the state’s Department of Health.

Right. I wasn't sure if Coleman was saying "it couldn't have happened from her tap water, because it's treated" or if the implication was that the victim had a well. I like your interpretation- the latter.

Yeah, people get confused by the idea of well water sometimes. Many people think of well water as the old fashioned, bucket on a rope, kind. In reality, many people get their tap water from a local well.

The main difference between well water and non-well water is that well water is not centrally treated by the water department. There will be filters and stuff, but it is not treated the same way.

The salts are to reduce irritation. Plain water is extremely uncomfortable in your sinuses, but saline is fine. As far as I know they do nothing to reduce contaminants in your water or harm bacteria.

And yet the article mentions distilled OR saline, which definitely raises the question.

If I wake up feeling like crap, it is far easier to use a salt packet than to go to the store for distilled water. The article implies that is fine (but the article may be misleading)

Perhaps they meant premixed , sterile saline solutions ?

Yes, the salt mainly is meant to reduce irritation.

Amoeba aren't bacteria, though. Both, however should be adversely affected by saline solutions because osmosis will draw water out of the cells, effectively killing these organisms.

Salt can be as effective a disinfectant as chlorine if dissolved in water. There are public swimming pools that make use of this because chlorine can have adverse effects on your health, such as causing irritation on both the skin and the respiratory system.

From WebMD on Naegleria Fowleri (the brain eating amoeba)

> Naegleria can't live in salt water. It can't survive in properly treated swimming pools or in properly treated municipal water.

> Most cases of N. fowleri disease occur in Southern or Southwestern states. Over half of all infections have been in Florida and Texas.

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