5 ms·

Here's a new one for you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_viruses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_viruses "Viruses are the most abundant biological

• 9dev 2y ago
  Shall we tell him about the Portuguese man o' war‘s 100 feet tentacles, or spontaneous methane clathrate eruptions?
• DyslexicAtheist 2y ago
  old home remedy if you suffer from a blocked nose/sinuses: "inhale" sea-water through your nose to clear it all up.
  • Sharlin 2y ago
    Nasal irrigation/sinus rinsing. There are accessories that make it more comfortable too. I think salt water in particular is just because non-isotonic water inside your nose hurts and irritates the membranes.
    • SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
      You can get sterile saline solutions for this purpose, in case you don't want "natural" seawater. Yes, too little (or too much) salt in the water will be painful.
      • Sharlin 2y ago
        You can just dissolve a teaspoon of salt to half a litre of any warm fresh drinkable water (tapwater is fine if it’s even reasonably good quality). Should be hundreds of times cheaper than sterile solution :)
        • skylurk 2y ago
          Please sterilise it first. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/what-to-know-about-another-dangerous-amoeba-linked-to-neti-pots-and-nasal-rinsing https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/what-to-know-about-anoth...
          • Sharlin 2y ago
            Point taken.
        • urxvtcd 2y ago
          > CDC officials, citing a 2021 survey, say about one-third of U.S. adults incorrectly think tap water was free of bacteria and other microorganisms. Nearly two-thirds say tap water could be safely used for rinsing their sinuses. > The CDC recommends using boiled, sterile or distilled water. Flesh eating bacteria? Yeah, no, thanks. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/what-to-know-about-another-dangerous-amoeba-linked-to-neti-pots-and-nasal-rinsing https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/what-to-know-about-anoth...
          • Sharlin 2y ago
            I may be biased by the quality of tap water where I live. Pharmacies around here definitely advise just using warm tap water, although they do of course also sell more sterile stuff too.
  • Etheryte 2y ago
    Sinus rinsing is one of those things that gets recommended a lot without thought. For many conditions, it's great relief, but on the flip side, if you have e.g. inflamed sinuses or the like, it can make your condition considerably worse. As always, it's best to consult your doctor, because there's more nuance to human health than handy tips online would let on.
    • mistercheph 2y ago
      Take more pills and don’t ask questions.
• deleted 2y ago
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• joseda-hg 2y ago
  Considering how common is swallowing and aspirating seawater is, how significant is this risk?
  • energy123 2y ago
    We have a microvirome so the mere existence of viruses is not necessarily a bad thing in itself
  • darkhorn 2y ago
    I cannot give statistics but I think viruses in the sea are for marine life and mostly they don't target humans. Also we are already inhaling lots of viruses.
    • SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
      > viruses in the sea are for marine life Yes of course. The Wikipedia article says "Most of these viruses are bacteriophages ... Bacteriophages are harmless to plants and animals ... Viruses are the main agents responsible for the rapid destruction of harmful algal blooms" Likely next to none can infect land mammals. Such viruses would not have a way to replicate to large numbers in seawater, not in land mammals.
  • SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
    Based on the historical record of humans at the sea, and the folk belief that seawater is healthy, not a significant risk at all. Ingesting bacteriophages could even be beneficial if you have bacterial issues.
• hermitcrab 2y ago
  If they were likely to crossover into mammals, they would probably have crossed over into seals by now.