In Defense of The Neti: There are Scarier Ways To Get A Brain Amoeba

The neti pot has been getting a lot of press lately, mostly from Health Department Warnings about it because three people got brain amoebas from using them and died horrifically. Brain amoebas! I always thought if my neti pot killed me it would be by me accidentally drowning myself. However, it's not the neti pot itself that gives people brain amoebas, it's the act of getting water up your nose if that water happens to already contain a brain amoeba.

SO! Absolutely use distilled or treated water in your neti pot. And still use it, unless you're too afraid, because it's awesome.

Because, turns out there are lots and lots of ways to get water up your nose! Here are some things to be afraid of:

1. Swimming.

2. Being told a really funny joke and while you're drinking water and shooting water out of your nose.

3. Washing your face too enthusiastically.

4. Getting hit in the face during a water-gun fight (Summer)/snowball fight (Winter).

5. Being a jerk at a bar and getting a drink thrown in your face.

6. Mishap with a detachable shower head.

7. Being a contestant on America's Next Top Model.

Where did the brain amoeba come from? When will it get its own horror franchise? Is this new? Is it global warming/smiting (depending upon your relationship to logic/god), or is it the beginning of the zombie apocalypse? And should we just wear nose plugs everywhere, forever?