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OT- How to quickly warm up cup of distilled water in the bathroom ?

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Milacron

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Coffee cup warmer too slow. Guess I need a tiny microwave but don't know of any small enough. Need water warm, not hot. Use= one cup every morning. Ideas ?
 
Well, if you are using this for saline lavage (Neti pot or squirt bottle), and your water system is chlorinated, you probably can use tap water. I do. Been doing so for several years.

Otherwise, a cheap plug-in coffee maker or tea pot off e-bay or from the Borg (Walmart) would be my path.
 
Well, if you are using this for saline lavage (Neti pot or squirt bottle), and your water system is chlorinated, you probably can use tap water. I do. Been doing so for several years.
Well, now you have something new to worry about :reading: No need to thank me ;)

The Well Column September 3, 2012, 5:20 pm112 CommentsRare Infection Prompts Neti Pot Warning
By TARA PARKER

Neti pots — those odd teapotlike vessels used to wash out the nasal passage — have won legions of fans who rely on them for relief from allergies, congestion and colds.
But now, after two cases of a deadly brain infection were linked to neti pots, government health officials have issued new warnings about using them safely.
The Food and Drug Administration last month reported on two cases in Louisiana in which patients contracted infections after using neti pots filled with tap water. The culprit was an amoeba called Naegleria fowleri, which is commonly found in lakes, rivers and hot springs.
This kind of infection is exceedingly rare, but it usually occurs when people get water up the nose after swimming or diving in lakes or rivers; Naegleria fowleri can travel from the nose into the brain, where it causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a disease that destroys brain tissue and is almost always fatal. In 123 known cases from 1962 to 2011 in the United States, only one person has survived, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last year, Louisiana state health officials reported on two unrelated deaths — of a 20-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman who were believed to have been infected by tap water later found to be contaminated with Naegleria fowleri. Both had used tap water in a neti pot. (Because stomach acid kills the amoeba, drinking contaminated water does not lead to infection.)
As a result, the F.D.A. has issued new warnings reminding consumers to use distilled or filtered water in a neti pot. They can use bottled water, or they can boil water and let it cool before using.
Doctors say the new warnings should not dissuade people from using a neti pot, which can be a safe and effective home remedy for allergies and congestion.
To use a neti pot, a person mixes water with a saline packet to create a mild saline solution. Leaning over a sink, the user inserts the spout of the pot into a nostril, allowing the water to wash up inside the nasal passage and flow out the other nostril. Nasal lavage bottles can also be used, although it is important not to squeeze the bottle too hard.
“Initially it’s a weird sensation, but if you’re congested and it washes out some of that stuff, you’re much less miserable,” said Dr. Rohit K. Katial, a professor of medicine and allergy specialist at National Jewish Health, a respiratory hospital based in Denver. “People end up really liking it because they feel refreshed — it’s wellness with water.”
Several studies show that regular nasal irrigation can reduce symptoms of allergies and congestion. One 2008 study found that children with severe allergies were less reliant on steroid nasal sprays if they regularly rinsed their nasal passages.
“One of the primary functions of the nose is filtration,” Dr. Katial said. “That’s where you capture all the pollens and particulates. Irrigation is the way to wash some of that out, and we think it’s very beneficial and we use it fairly extensively in our patients.”
Doctors say it’s important to keep the risk of Naegleria fowleri contamination in perspective. Most cases are in the South, although some have been documented in the Midwest and as far north as Minnesota. Millions of people swim and dive in lakes and rivers each year, yet from 2002 to 2011 there were only 32 reported Naegleria fowleri infections, according to the disease centers. By comparison, from 1996 to 2005, the most recent period with available data, the United States had more than 36,000 drowning deaths.
With neti pots and other forms of nasal lavage, the greater risk comes from improper cleaning. Bacteria or fungi can form on the spout of a used neti pot or in a partly used nasal lavage bottle. Regular use of an improperly cleaned neti pot or contaminated lavage bottle can lead to chronic irritation or allergies.
And like toothbrushes, neti pots shouldn’t be shared with anyone. People with a compromised immune system should consult a doctor before using a neti pot.
While the two recent cases of amoebic infection may be terrifying, the public should not be alarmed or fearful about freshwater swimming or neti pot use, said Dr. Philip T. Hagen, vice chairman of the Mayo Clinic’s division of preventive medicine.
“If you talk about the general population, there are more common things to be aware of and worry about than a scary amoebic infection,” said Dr. Hagen, who is also the editor of “The Mayo Clinic Book of Home Remedies.” “It’s an opportunity to remind people to be cautious and use good cleaning approaches and maintenance of their neti pot.”
 
Thanks for pointing this out.

The article underscores my comment about chlorinated water - chlorine is the only common approach that maintains secondary antimicrobial action. What was not documented in this (or any other report on the web) was whether the folks that died were using (for example) well-water or chlorinated muni water. And I can't find any info on whether chlorination levels in tap water kill the organism. There's a lot of misinformation on the web (I know, shocking!), such as "my doctor told me tap water was ok so long as I use the salt - salt kills the organisms". No, salt at that level makes the organisms happy, for the same reason that proper concentrations of salt make our nasal cells happy, and unsalted water hurts. So I'm at a quandary about this. I rinse the hell out of the nozzle and the squirt bottle and hang the bottle upside down to drain and dry. I use antimicrobial hand soap to wash the thing every few weeks. But if the treated tap water has microbes in it, that's scary.

But should I be scared? The fact that 3 people died in this manner, and that there is no treatment once infected, certainly gets one's attention. If one figures that maybe half a percent of the population uses these things, thats 1.5 million users. So the odds would appear to be about 1 in 500,000.

There is a study that shows chronic use actually increases sinus infections: Frequent Neti Pot Use Causes More Sinus Infections - ABC News

I think I may back off on daily use, and use a saline lavage only episodically, in response to colds, stuffy nose, or infections. And an old plug-in teapot, with a thermometer, to heat distilled water may be the safest way to do this.
 
"up your nose with a rubber hose?"

Maybe, not.

We have guys here at work, they just snuff the water right up their noses from the
sinks in the bathrooms. Not a nice habit IMO.
 
But should I be scared? The fact that 3 people died in this manner, and that there is no treatment once infected, certainly gets one's attention. If one figures that maybe half a percent of the population uses these things, thats 1.5 million users. So the odds would appear to be about 1 in 500,000.

Actually, I think the odds would significantly less:

If you consider that the most common route of infection is via swimming in lakes and rivers, I would say maybe 1/3 of the population does this routinely during the summer, in water far less clean than anything coming from municipal water and most wells. And via this more common route of infection there have been only 123 cases in 50 years of people swimming.
If you are scared to use a Neti Pot, you should be more scared to go swimming.

Although if I was using one daily, I would probably take some extra precaution.
 
If you are scared to use a Neti Pot, you should be more scared to go swimming.
I don't think "scared" is the right word. I used one this morning with tap water even after reading the article yesterday as I'm aware the odds of a problem are miniscule. But as thermite mentions, no need to tempt fate if the precaution is cheap and easy.
 
The main issue here is to first not create more problems than we solve. Whatever you do, the solutions and equipment should be sterile. Boil water for five minutes and keep in a sterile container or buy sterile water. Use irrigating equipment that can be run through a dishwasher. Use the premixed packets of salts so as to avoid burning the nasal passages. Warming can be a challenge in that the water temperature should not be more than 100F. A small microwave would be the best choice for two reasons. They can be set rather accurately to get the right temperature, abet after some experimenting to get these settings, and the solution can be heated in the application container assuming of course that the container is not metal or something else that could not go in a microwave.

Tom
 
Ask your doc whether a steroid nasal spray might be appropriate to your circumstances. I breathed through my mouth because of nasal congestion until about thirty years ago my doc perscribed Vancenase and I have been breathing normally through my nose ever since. Various perscription plans have over the years substituted lower cost generics, the current one being Fluticasone Propionate. Here's a link identifying some other similar products. Alternatives To Vancenase Nasal Spray - The People's Pharmacy®

Incidentally, I've been successfully using nasal irrigation combined with OTC cold remedies for periodic sinus infections/colds since I'm allergic to several common antibiotics.

David Merrill
 
Ask your doc whether a steroid nasal spray might be appropriate to your circumstances. l
As per usual we are getting off topic where folks are dying to "get to the root reason" of everything rather than address the actual question... but FWIW, I use Fluticasone Propionate as well...doesn't quite do the trick for me, without irrigation as well.
 
Most welders that work for me irrigate with the saline specifically for this.

They keep it in their tee shirt pocket where it remains at optimal temp.
 
Regarding quickly warming a small volume of water, I would consider a Mr. Coffee style of coffee maker (without the filters or coffee).

To start, the decanter would have a volume of room temperature water, which would be warmed up by running a small volume of water through the heating system.

Once you determined the ratios of water, it would be a simple matter.

Perhaps 50/50, though our engineer members could probably arrive at a more accurate starting point.
 
Stroll the aisles at Babies-R-Us... Likely some bottlewarmer solutions out there you can use with saline solution, and with a timer so things are toasty warm right when you need it.

If you want industrial quality, use an on-demand hot water heater, tuned to the temp of your choice, gravity-fed by your saline bottle. (Insinkerator makes 'em.) These are small, tissue-box size devices, not the whole-house variety.

I don't care what you do with the warm water. :)

Chip
 
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