Woman Suffered A Mysterious Illness FOR MONTHS After Improperly Cleaning Her Water Bottle
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I don't know when water bottles became the new it girl accessory, but suddenly everybody and their mother is toting around the Stanley cup like it's Chanel. Not that I'm complaining. Yay hydration!
While I'm thrilled for our kidney health, there is a cause for concern. A 19-year-old college student named Kae found herself in the hospital just from using her Owala bottle, The New York Post reports.
In a now-viral TikTok, which was switched to private after garnering over 3.3 million views, Kae detailed how she was in and out of the hospital for months as a result of drinking from her moldy water bottle.
"Hey, this is a PSA to anyone who owns an Owala," she posted on the video streaming platform.
"I got sick in August … I had a cold that, minor, you know? Lasted a week and then didn’t go away. Went to urgent care: bronchitis," she explained in the video. "Of course, they give me an inhaler and then some pills and I, of course, break out in hives as a result of the pills."
After she was finally on the up and up after the bronchitis, she got a sinus infection. Weeks later she had "the worst sore throat of" her life. The cycle just continued. Shortly after she was put on antibiotics for a third time, she went to clean her water bottle, and that's when things went "downhill."
"First of all, I know I don’t clean it as much as I should. No one does. I know it’s full of bacteria," she said. After stumbling across a Reddit thread that revealed how to actually clean the Owala correctly, Kae removed the silicone piece of her water bottle.
"I didn't know it came out," she explained. She said that the stopper was "covered in mold," and the mold had "embedded itself into the silicone." Once it was cleaned properly, Kae's symptoms disappeared.
This also isn't a new issue. Travel tumblers are a known breeding ground for mold and bacteria, which is why it's so important to clean your cups properly. Users have been sharing all over TikTok how to properly clean their Stanley cup (and where to look for mold), and Owala has cleaning instructions on its site too.
"All lids are top-rack dishwasher safe and designed for easy cleaning. The spout gasket should be removed by using the convenient pull tab and cleaned separately. A sponge or straw brush can be used to access the nook or smaller spaces," the site explains.
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