What is a Neti Pot, you ask? It's a magic-lamp looking thing with a long spout; you fill it with a lukewarm saline solution and pour it in your nose. In one nostril, out the other; instead of a genie that grants you wishes, you get nasal irrigation. It's supposed to help tremendously with allergies and sinus conditions.
This is the one I have. They make ceramic ones too. |
I still suffer from seasonal allergies though, and each year they seem to get a little worse. I get hit in the spring AND the fall. I usually have at least one sinus infection a year.
So the Neti Pot has always intrigued me, but also weirded me out a bit; pouring water into my nose just doesn't seem natural, and I know I HATE getting water up my nose while swimming, so why would I want to do that? Americans who use Neti Pots seem few and far between, and while I talked to a lot of people who were interested in them, I never found an actual person I knew who had used one. Everything I read claimed it shouldn't feel like like much of anything, that the 'getting water up your nose while swimming' feeling would not happen. I remained skeptical.
I finally broke down and bought a Neti Pot early last spring, while I was on vacation in Utah, of all places. Then I left it sitting in my suitcase for two months, until I was beset with a godawful, unexpected late-spring sinus infection. One of the most painful ones I'd ever had. At some point in my misery, while waiting for the medicine to kick in, I remembered the Neti Pot and frantically dug it out. I didn't even CARE if it felt like poolwater-in-the-nose at that point, I just wanted some relief.
It's probably not recommended to start using a Neti Pot when you're stuffed up like crazy, and at first I wasn't even sure it would WORK, but it did. And it helped clear me out. And the next day, and the next. It helped me feel better and I believe it helped me recover more quickly.
It DOES have a little bit of that 'water up your nose' feeling, I won't lie. But it's not as bad as it can be while swimming and you can adjust the tilt of your head and the angle of the water to minimize it. I don't find it particularly PLEASANT (as some people claim to), but it isn't so bad either, and I think the benefit outweighs the weirdness of the experience.
You can find a lot of videos of people using Neti Pots on youtube and it's kind of interesting to watch. I like this one from Howcast:
Since then, I haven't used it regularly (I have an irrational fear of running out of the little packets of saline solution it came with; this is stupid because a) we could buy more and b) YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN SOLUTION) but I have used it when I've had some stuffiness, and it always helps.
It is now edging towards fall, and with the appearance of the cooler weather comes crazy allergies. I can feel the pain and pressure in my face already. I am making a vow to use the Neti Pot daily this fall and see if it makes a difference with my allergies this year.
Do any if you use Neti Pots? If not, are you willing to try? What's your thought on them?
I think it's done pretty well for me - WHEN I've used it. The best results would come from using it every day, or at least often.
ReplyDeleteI use mine every sunday (lol, not sure why but its always sunday). If I'm stuffy..then I use it every day a few times a day when I'm stuffy.
ReplyDeleteSince breastfeeding I cant take decongestants and so my neti pot has been a godsend.
Praise be to the alladin lamp that you shove up your nose!!!
I use mine several times a week, in the morning. This is a new dedication for me - I'm using it because I tend to be stuffed up and icky dry in the mornings and also because I have dry eye! I was hoping it would help with the eyes, but no luck yet. I do actually enjoy using it though! I occasionally get a little water toward the ear but it clears out fast, I don't have any sort of crazy swimmer's ear sensation afterward.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes you can totally make your own saline solution - all I do is put a little non-iodized salt in a 2 cup measuring cup, fill 1 cup with boiling water and 1 cup with cold water. I guess you don't need to use any sort of distilled or filtered water, but I feel better doing so. Then I pour 1 cup of water at a time into the neti pot so each nostril gets 1. Fresh! ;)
Kate - You mentioned that you "use it every day a few times a day when I'm stuffy." I think it is recommended to do it only once a day, in the morning. So be careful about it, excess of a good thing is not good.
ReplyDeleteI can see that you have an expertise on this topic, I would very much like to hear more from you on this subject – I’ve bookmarked this and will return soon more about it, thank you.
ReplyDeletealj