January 31, 2008

Brush your teeth, wash your face, irrigate your nose?


I just started using a neti pot. Aside from feeling like I'm half drowning in saltwater, it's working out pretty well. Apparently you do this once or twice a day and your sinuses will be clean as a whistle. Beats the heck out of taking meds or having sinus infections, so I'm giving it a go!

"Neti" refers to nasal irrigation, and is popular in Ayurvedic medicine. Take my yoga teacher's advice and try it while you are in the shower to minimize nose-water cleanup.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another great post Michelle!

Here's a quick tip for your readers: the kind of solution you use counts!

If you're using your neti pot as part of a daily cleansing routine (or Jala Neti as it's called in the east), a normal saline solution will work well.

But if you're trying to treat nasal inflammation, try using a hypertonic saline solution instead.

So what's the difference? Well, a normal saline solution has the same percentage of salt as normal body fluids, where a hypertonic solution has a greater percentage of salt than normal body fluids.

Scientists think that this extra salt can help calm inflammation in the sinuses.

To make a hypertonic solution at home, just add 1 teaspoon of salt to 8 ounces of water. If the solution is too strong, just add a little less next time.

So if you're feeling stuffed up, try a few extra shakes from the ol' salt shaker. Your muscus membranes will thank you!

Anonymous said...

must let me know how this works for you, i have the WORST allergies and sinus problems!

mgsmarcus11 said...

Recently my doctor recommended Nasopure, a nasal irrigation system referred to as the modern neti. I have tried both the neti and Nasopure and have found Nasopure far superior. I dont have to bend and twist like the neti and Nasopure seems to give a much more effective flush because it uses self controlled pressure instead of gravity. The angled Nasopure bottle allows for you to stand straight up while using it. Also, the salt packets that come with the product is much cheaper and seems more effective than that of the neti. I use one salt packet for about a week in the shower with Nasopure while the neti uses atleast one packet per use. Their website www.nasopure.com is very informative too and compares different nose washes on the market.