ELi5 why do you have to use distilled water in your nose as opposed to regular tap or purified water?

Question

ELi5 why do you have to use distilled water in your nose as opposed to regular tap or purified water?

In: Biology

Answer 1

*[Did a Brain-Eating Amoeba Kill a Woman Who Rinsed Her Sinuses with Tap Water?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brain-eating-amoeba-sinuses/)*

*Balamuthia mandrillaris infections are extremely rare and largely preventable, but the few cases that do occur are usually fatal.*

**Snopes Verdict:** True

> On 5 December 2018, the Seattle Times published an article whose terrifying headline ensured its own virality: “Rare brain-eating amoebas killed Seattle woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water. Doctor warns this could happen again.”

> Sadly for those who visited this page hoping to find that the reporting was exaggerated or made-up, this really happened. Though her anonymity was maintained, the story of a 69-year-old Seattle woman who used tap water in her Neti pot for over a year and then died from a Balamuthia mandrillaris brain infection was documented in a 20 September 2018 case study published in the *International Journal of Infectious Diseases*.