My Beloved Neti Pot

With horrible sinuses wreaking havoc on my life, I decided that I would either try to crack open my skull or I had to find a more reasonable solution. The one solution I had heard about just didn't seem interesting enough for me to try it until I ended up with a sinus headache that lasted for four days. It took me almost a week to decide that I didn't enjoy being miserable.

I headed to the health food store in search of a powerful nasal spray, and I certainly found one. I found one with capsaicin in it which is pretty powerful stuff and burns quite a bit. The nasal spray got my attention and it worked well, but it still didn't get rid of the problem. So, I stopped at a drug store and bought a neti pot that is used with a nasal rinse. While it looked strange, I decided to give it a try, and for fifteen bucks I was ready to try anything as long as I got relief.

I followed the directions thinking that it was not possible that anyone could use this without laughing. I had to put some lukewarm water in the small plastic teapot, and mix a packet of the saline solution, then put the pot adjacent to my nostril, tip my head and pour so it ran through my nasal cavity. The first time it was rather odd, but that is because it felt like my first time underwater in a pool. There was a slight burn, and I had to get used to the water passing through the nasal cavities, while a little would drain down the throat.

The directions told me to do it once for each nostril so I continued on my way with both, and within minutes I felt clear. My sinuses were pretty bad and I was having trouble decongesting, so I did it again two hours later. After using it four times that day, everything was gone; the nasal wash cleared out the congestion, and enabled me to breathe so much better, and for that I was thankful. Clearing the head relieved the headache pain, and I was able to avoid the Excedrin and Sudafed as a result.

While my holistic doctor loves his neti pot, he says that it is still good to use a natural nasal spray that doesn't have saline in it. He recommends Hydrastis which has a little sting, but nothing like that hot pepper!

Dr. Leonid Macheret

Partners in Wellness

Fairfield, Ohio