Damn, that’s scary data. What the hell have we done to ourselves? I have lost one of my nurses to colon cancer at 35, leaving 3 young kids. Another in her late 20s who survived, but went through hell just before my diagnosis at 53. All of us way too young. Shit.
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Once upon a time my spouse thought it was odd how much attention I pay to my bowel movements. More so when I started teaching our kid to pay attention to that and the color of the pee in the bowl. Or how I insist we each take fiber supplements
Not so anymore. He had a scare, luckily the colonoscopy turned out normal.
Edit to add: and we had good insurance and the money to get a colonoscopy
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For the study released today, researchers dug into a CDC database of national reports of amoeba infections. They found 10 cases of people who developed infections with the free-living Acanthamoeba who also reported rinsing their sinuses. Of the 10 cases, five noted nasal rinsing that involved tap water, while the type of water used in the other cases was unclear. In water sampling, Acanthamoeba and other biofilm-associated amoebae have been detected in over 50 percent of US tap water samples.
Seems the myth that Acanthamoeba is limited to warmer areas is pretty widespread. Not true. From the CDC website:
Acanthamoeba is found worldwide. Most commonly, Acanthamoeba is found in soil, dust, fresh water sources (such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs), in brackish water (such as a marsh), and sea water. Acanthamoeba can also be found in swimming pools, hot tubs, drinking water systems (for example, slime layers in pipes and taps), as well as in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and humidifiers.
Fair warning, eh?
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- Is it OK to keep using the same bottle of distilled water for this? Or is it no longer sterile once I’ve opened the lid?
- I guess the saline doesn’t harm the antigens in the tap water?
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I am going to answer from a practical standpoint, not an OR-level sterility one, and say yes, assuming you put it back on after pouring some out. As to the second question, salt tolerance varies dramatically across species, but I going to guess that if you added enough salt to get rid of the offending organisms, it would be intolerable for use as an irrigant, so there is that.
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Thx! & Yeah, on the other hand, I found out the hard way that the salt is used for a good reason.
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This is why I use a copper water bottle.
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3 weeks in, small and medium sized practices affected are beginning to collapse with no cash flow, no way to pay employees or overhead. Just another moment of “but we did what was best for the bottom line.”
According to an antitrust lawsuit brought against UHG by the Department of Justice in 2022, 50 percent of all medical claims in the US pass through Change Healthcare’s electronic data interchange clearinghouse. (The DOJ lost its case to prevent UHG’s acquisition of Change Healthcare and last year abandoned plans for an appeal.)
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Teen Pregnancy leads to a 2x mortality by age 30
This is a terrifying finding from what appears to be an excellent study.
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No time to read the article right now. Will soon. Did they attempt to correct for socioeconomic variables? That has to play a role.
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They controlled for area-level socioeconomic factors; there’s an editorial on the paper at JAMA as well.
This was Ontario 
, so access to abortion is a given, pre- and post-natal care ought (ideally) to be there. Where they aren’t swamped, midwives are covered here and do a great job (the program was designed specifically in consultation with women in midwifery care).
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I boil water, put the salt into my ceramic netti pot and pour the water over. Leave it 15 to cool and I’m fairly sure I won’t be pouring parasites into my sinuses.
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When I’ve used one I boil the water in my electric kettle too. Hopefully that’s sufficient.
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I hate neti pots. I use a sterile saline solution that comes in a container that is slightly pressurised. That works, but what I’d really like to have is basically a minituarized Kärcher.
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Something like this?
It has attachments too, just like a pressure washer.
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Yikes! That’s a formidable looking array of tools.
The whole idea of nasal irrigation squicks me out. I didn’t even know it was a thing until I saw those nightmare inducing Navage commercials.
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Reaches the parts other products won’t!
Fully adjustable pulsating action!
What’s not to like?
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Posted for educational value. I, at least, had no idea.
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This ghoulish and unfair practice has been going on for some time. I remember a seminar on elder law where they said to consult with clients and recommend they sell the home for a minimal fee to a trusted family member or move the home into a trust. As well as bank accounts. Though not every elderly person has someone they can trust that much and anyone hiring a lawyer before the nursing home/hospice is already outside the usual target for this recovery. Which, of course, are poorer people who’s only wealth is the home.
I suspect the states that claim it is financially efficient are cooking the books. Or farming out the pursuit to what is essentially debt collectors. The debt collectors get to keep a percentage of all “recoveries.” It’s cheap for the states to do and miserable for all the targets. Whom, lest we forget, are in mourning.
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