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Last week I wrote about some odd ways to improve your health. I was particularly dismissive of the Neit pot, which allows a person to perform nasal irrigation. “My logical mind just doesn’t see any reason this would be beneficial to health,” I wrote.
Tons of Get Fit Slowly readers wrote to share their experiences, and they all said the same thing: It works!
“Wait a minute,” I thought. “Don’t I have chronic sinus problems? Aren’t I always complaining about having a stuffed nose? Maybe I should give this a try.” After my workout Monday morning, I stopped by a pharmacy and bought a Neti pot and some saline mix. I’ve used it every day (twice a day) since.
I do not find the experience pleasant. Remember how I complained about my trouble breathing while swimming? Remember how I wrote that I felt like I was drowning? Turns out that’s the exact same feeling I get from the Neti pot. That feeling I hate in the pool is from water entering my sinus cavity. And here I am, standing over the sink twice a day, voluntarily subjecting myself to the same awful feeling.
If I hate it so much, why am I doing it? Because it works! I absolutely cannot believe it, but it works. What’s going on? Am I getting salt deposits in my nostrils? Will I have crystal boogers? I don’t know. All I know is that my sinuses are staying dryer longer (not all day, but longer), and that I’m better able to breathe.
Combine the Neti pot experience with my recent discovery of nasal strips, and you’ve got a whole new J.D., especially at night. I’m not wearing my C-PAP machine. I can’t tell if I’m still snoring, but I think that evil habit may be gone.
Thank you, readers, for sharing your experience. If you hadn’t said anything, I never would have bothered to try this. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go pour some salt water up my nose…
Mac
13 responses so far ↓
1 Red // Apr 24, 2008 at 10:51 am
Awesome. Though it does suck that it takes something so gross to get that benefit. Why can’t eating a Milky Way clear up my sinuses.
This will probably open your eyes to increasingly less pleasant treatments with amazing benefits.
Next up: Espresso enema. Makes for a perky anus.
2 d.a. // Apr 24, 2008 at 11:07 am
@Red - so glad I wasn’t drinking a soda when reading your comment… *rofl*!!!
3 Joe // Apr 24, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Hi JD,
For myself and my two sons, I picked up from Fred Meyer last year a product called Ayr. It performs the same task as a Neti pot, provides NaCl and baking soda in portioned packets, and allows you to rinse with a head-tip or by squeezing the bottle vertically.
I use it conjunction with my allergy meds.
And considering how badly my sons let their noses get gunked up, it’s a godsend.
4 SeoulK // Apr 24, 2008 at 7:41 pm
The neti pot is just a fancy word for a nasal douche, which Mom used to give me all the time. It’s an absolute miracle when you are at the early, or not so early, stages of getting clogged by allergies, a cold, rhinitis, you name it.
No fancy products needed actually— just take a paper cup and pinch it to make a spout, then fill with a bit of tepid water and dissolve some salt, and you’re off. Though, can be a bit scary, the kind of dragons and snakes it flushes out of your passages.
5 BubbaX (a friend of Tiff) // Apr 25, 2008 at 6:37 am
I’ve been using a neti pot since I heard about it last year on NPR. Don’t use it regularly but when I do, works like a charm.
Save money - make your own saline! A teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water does just fine.
6 k // Apr 25, 2008 at 7:18 am
JD,
And the feeling of it changes depending on the angle of your head, so try different positions. The neti pot is great…
I wonder if you’re doing something wrong with the neti pot to make it so uncomfortable. I’m not particularly good in the water, and I regularly snort in tons of water if I put my head under when I’m swimming. Yet, I find the neti pot comfortable to use. Make sure you’re relaxed and calmly breathing only out of your mouth when you use it. Breathing out of your nose causes uncomfortable disasters
7 Billy // Apr 25, 2008 at 8:47 am
I have a neti pot in my home but have only used it when sick. I should give it a try. Maybe it’ll help my nasal problems as well.
Thanks for the review. I linked to your post over at Qvisory.
8 MizFit // Apr 25, 2008 at 9:50 am
I would marry my neti pot were it legal.
still might in a civil ceremony.
in texas with all the pollen it’s indispensable.
9 Fletcher // Apr 25, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I very much agree with making your own solution, cheaper and just as effective. but, it is important to pay a little attention to the solution to avoid the discomfort. I read years ago in the book Sinus Solution to use luke-warm water (not too cold or too hot, it does make a difference), with something like a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and - to get the right pH again to keep from irritating the mucus membranes - about 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda. At least that’s about what my husband and I use & it’s comfortable and effective.
10 surplusj // Apr 25, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I use a neti pot, and I love it. It takes some trial and error to find the right saline concentration so that you don’t feel the water-up-your-nose burn of pool water. If it’s just the water flow and not the burning that’s bothering you, it might help a little to breathe out slowly through your mouth when you start the flow. I might be a sicko, but I find the water-in-my-sinuses feeling oddly nice.
11 Joe // Apr 25, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I second the information on temperature. Cooler water produces a stronger “drowning” sensation.
12 Anca // Apr 27, 2008 at 9:35 pm
After reading your post, and having a day where I could progressively breathe less and less through my nose, I bought a neti pot today. After the first try, I now barely feel the water in my sinuses, but whereas on one nostril it’s fine, on the other one half of the water is going into my mouth…
13 Lazy Man and Health // May 15, 2008 at 4:44 pm
It’s worth trying nearly reasonable once. My wife, a pharmacist, got a version of this for her ears (Earigate) and said that it works wonderfully as well.
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