Woman dies from brain-eating amoebas after using neti pot

SEATTLE. (WTVD) -- A 69-year-old Seattle woman died from what doctors said they believe were rare brain-eating amoebas.

The patient, who underwent brain surgery at Swedish Medical Center, had used tap water to rinse her sinuses using a neti pot. Her doctor told The Seattle Times there was "amoeba all over the place just eating brain cells."

A neti pot is a teapot-like vessel used to flush out nasal passages. Health experts suggest only using distilled, sterile or boiled water to rinse sinuses. The water can contain tiny organisms that are safe to drink but can survive in your nasal passages.

These infections are very rare. There were three similar cases in the U.S. from 2008 to 2017.

An Ohio teenager died from a brain-eating amoeba infection after visiting the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte in June of 2017.