Neti Pot Learning Curve

Many entries ago, I talked about a raisin that took a trip in my mouth and out my nose, a journey that took 3 days! No complaining here though, as I now have a party trick, that I can do just about anywhere, as long as I am wearing my necklace. Along with said trick, came a realization about just how the nose and mouth are connected and how you can use that to your advantage for any number of day-to-day activities.

As an allergy sufferer, I soon discovered that sucking water into the nose did a fantastic job cleaning it out and help immensely when it came to allergies. I do this in the shower, so while not the most pleasant image, there is no clean up. Now, I go through half the Kleenex I used to, I can actually smell things from June – September and I no longer need antihistamines.

A while back I heard about how a neti pot could enhanced the effects of my daily routine thanks to the addition of salt and the flowing of water in one nostril and out the other. For $19.99, Himalayan Crystal Salt included, I thought I would give it a go. I could have pick up one for about $5, but given my aversion to plastic, I went with the double decker design porcelain version.

In the bottom, you prepare your saline solution and the top is the pot itself. The directions for the salt were to dissolve as much salt into the water as possible until you see a few bits on the bottom. Each salt ‘crystal’ is about the size of a small apricot and I think I had three in there before I could see residue on the bottom.

Either the instructions were not clear or I don’t follow directions very well, but I am telling you all now, you need to DILUTE FINAL SOLUTION! That much salt in your nose burns like an SOB! It went in easily enough, but trying to get the sting out took a couple hours.

That, plus not having my head tilted just right resulting in a few mouthfuls of salt water, almost made me abandon the pot for my old routine.

My next attempt was much more successful. With warm water and a splash of the salt solution, I docked the neti spout in my nose, tucked my chin towards my shoulder and the water flowed just as I had imagined. Breathing through the mouth was easy, there was no panic and at the half way mark, at least as far as I could determine, I switched sides and drained the pot.

I now neti about every third day, more often if I have been out running or in the garden and know there will be an abundance of pollen up the old nose. If you suffer from allergies at all, I highly recommend giving it a try but don’t expect to look or feel as glamorous as the buxom blond on the front of the box who is actually smiling while she flushes her nose ~ at least not on the first try.