The recent news in July 2019, of death of a healthy 59 year old Eddy Gray from Amoeba has alarmed the United States: how Neeti can be fatal if its water is not boiled or distilled. Most Indians do not associate distilled water with Neti. We use tap water.
Neti or nasal irrigation system is a thousands of years old traditional Ayurvedic treatment for nose and sinuses that has benefitted the world . Some American ENT specialists recommend it highly for nasal discomforts. Every Yoga institute in India recommends it for every one. But few are aware that tap water or pond, river or swimming pool water can carry a microbe called Amoeba. This is what killed the healthy Eddy Gray within ten days of contacting Amoeba. Investigation of his household tap water found that it had Amoeba gems as well as a pond near his home in Mississippi.
Amoeba was first recognized in 1970 in United States as a brain eater germ. It travels thru passage of nerves and veins in nose leading to brain and starts to grow in brain so fast that it displaces all other components of brain downwards and man dies. It will not reach brain if water is swallowed thru mouth because stomach acid would kill it. But passage thru nose has no such protection.
Amoeba grows mostly in warm climates like Asia and Africa. Most cases of Amoeba were found in Southern United States but recently some cases were found in Minnesota which is a cold state. This may be due to global climate change.
Jennifer Cope, a medical epidemiologist for the US government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says “But when you start to swell, that hard skull actually gets in the way” after attack from Amoeba and brain is eaten up or destroyed in 97 % of the cases.
India can have more serious problem from this menace. Our Diagnostics and investigations are already so constrained that we hardly recognize this menace and the patient is gone before recognizing what hit him.
Solution to protect from Amoeba is simple. the water we use must be boiled or distilled or bottled water, never tap, municipal, river or pond water, and Neti is safe. And the world can still be proud of our Neti, the great Ayurvedic tradition
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