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Couple things because I've delved into this myself a good bit — especially having what I view as a close call doing water-sports at a very warm lake that has a history of deaths from this very thing (cue a week's worth of paranoia....)
- Despite it being "always fatal," we don't really know how often it's encountered and that our immune-system is able to get rid of it. (Nobody voluntarily gets it; nobody goes to the ER that isn't sick for the very specific symptoms it presents as).
- It has to get very far up your nose and is usually from kicked-up sediment.
Regarding Nasal Irrigation/Neti pot Risk: be sure to use distilled water. Also some bonus information I've written up previously regarding the benefits of nasal irrigation:
There have been many studies showing its effectiveness in reducing the duration and severity of both the common cold, as well as reducing the chance of hospitalization from covid 8x if done twice a day.
That's not even saying anything about the benefits to those with allergies...
Pro tips for those wanting to do more nasal irrigation:
- Do yourself a favor and get a nasal irrigation syringe instead of the pot. Much more control and a little pressure when needed.
- Get the pre-made saline packets to ensure the dosage is appropriate and balanced to not burn.
- Use distilled water only
- Routinely sterilize your nasal irrigator in boiling water.
- Look into using J&J Baby Shampoo in 1% solution if you need something stronger for a high-risk infection.
- If not using it regularly, consider using the nasal-irrigation immediately after being in a "high-risk" environment such as an indoor area with many people tightly packed and at risk of being sick. It will flush your initial viral load and improve your odds of purging the infection before it starts.