Neti Pot - Not just for those annoying colds

[SuperSleeper]

[parts of this thread were copied from our old forum]

Neti Pots are not just for colds, but used every day and you will be amazed at how well you can breath. For us that use C-pap machines it is real important. I reasd a post that used the term "hose head". I like that and it fits with being a "cheese head"!!! My 2 year old granddaughter cals it "papa's alein mask"!

For those who are not familure, a Neti Pot is a "salt water flush for your sinus cavities". For about $15.00 at your local pharmacy you can obtain a kit. The kit comes with a "tea pot" looking thing and 50 packets of - and this is the important thing - pharmaceutical grade sodium chloride. (I've tried table and sea salt and it burns. Can't accuse me of being the brightest bulb on the tree.) If you do this once a day, about an hour before bedtime, you will be surprised at how well you can breath. Regular tap water works great, no need to purchase distilled water.

The story (reason):

I started using a C-pap on the 13th of October 2010. Thats when life started going downhill where my sinuses are concerned. I suffer from a hereditary condition that comes about during the winter - nose bleeds like you can't imagine. I need to keep the humidity in the house above 50% - yes I know this is high - have no choice. I have a heart condition that requires me to be on "blood thinners" and "anti-coagulants". The bleeding was bad enough to cause me to wake up and have to clean my mask out in the middle of the night - YEAH!!! I made the big drastic mistake of having my nose cauterized - don't do it!!! It took about two weeks to heal and it was the worst two weeks of my life. ...And then the cold set in - what next. Spent Thanksgiving, in misery, with my sister. She turned me on to the Neti Pot. Life started looking up. It should be noted the cauterization didn't help much, my nose would still bleed. The use of the Neti Pot helped both conditions. Plus I started using a "saline" gel called Ayr. Nose bleeding is very minimal and breathing is great!!! Keep in mind - I maintained a 95% compliance rate through all of this just to get my insurance company to shell out the 2+ grand for my machine. And that was no mean feet.

NETI POT - I can't say enough. It helps to relieve colds as well as helps you breath better. Get the kit, follow the instructions, and breath well in 2011!!!

[SuperSleeper]

Thanks for the info, Jeffy!

Again, if anyone wants to see the video about these Neti Pots, go here:

http://www.apneaboard.com/Neti_pot.htm

[SuperSleeper]

Update:

If you decide to take this advice your kit will come with packets of mixture. When that runs out you need to buy replacements and they can get a bit pricey. I was given a redipe - by an E.N.T. specialist. I tried it and Waa-Laa. Better than plain table salt - had something to do with the iodine. But this works, I now mix it up by the gallon.


1 teaspoon of canning salt

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda - not powder.

32 oz warm tap water or distilled

Dr. Reinke also said you cannot over due this procedure. At the first sign of a "stuffy" nose (cold / alergies) - START - many times a day if necessary. Nothing harmfull or adicting about water salt and baking soda - not powder!!!

[SuperSleeper]

I can't tell who makes the Neti Pot referred to above, but Neil Med also sells a Neti Pot.

I have never used either Neti Pot, so I cannot comment on either.

However, I just use their squeeze bottle & their pre-mixed packets.

Although I have heard of people making their own saline mixture, "I" don't do it.
Just bought a box of 50 premixed packets of the NeilMed mixture for $ 7.49 (only 14.98 cents per packet). Last time I bought a box of 100 for $ 12.59 (only 12.59 cents per packet).
PLUS, using the packets is Sooooo much more convenient.

I very seldom use 2 packets at a time, but do sometimes use a 1 packet solution twice (one right after the other) twice a day. MOST of the time I use only a 1 packet solution once a day in the morning - Gives it all day to drain out all of the excess. I very seldom use any combination for more than 2 or 3 days at a time. My heated Humidifier on my CPAP usually does more than an adequate job by itself.

I also use only distilled water.
Even if your municipal water supply is decent, it still contains many minerals that may not be good for your sinuses.

[SuperSleeper]

The Neti Pot procedure can be intimidating to some. The (idea of it) even "gross" to others. It does require a certain (although usually small) amount of trial and error to achieve the desired results, and that is to get the solution to go in one nostril and exit the other, thusly cleaning the nasal passages and sinus cavity. It works beautifully for me.
My recipe.... 1/2 tsp coarse Kosher salt desolved in 1/2-2/3 cup of slightly warm tap water. Half of the solution goes in each side. A 3# box of Kosher salt will probably last you a lifetime.

[SuperSleeper]

Amen to "gross out"!!! I took to it like a duck to water. My wife, Susan, on the other hand about lost her cookies when she saw what came out. She now works in a foundry and should do this everyday!!! Won't', can't, no way!!! I told her just to keep her eyes closed when you get to the blow part. Still not happening. So i can sympathize with those that may be intimidated.

Definitely not something you want to do in front of other people. Totally gross... but it works!

[SuperSleeper]

JUST CURIOUS as to why some of you use the NetiPot instead of the 8 oz squeeze bottle that NeilMed sells?

I just read the information that comes with the premixed NeilMed packets & it states that the squeeze bottle is "better" than the NetiPot because it is better at getting the solution where it needs to be (more force than the NetiPot).

In fact, when my wife had nasal surgery a few years back, her ENT who did the surgery had her use the NeilMed premixed packets with an attachment that fit on a water pik. Although she was told to use it on a lower setting of the water pik, the idea was to "wash-out" the accumulated blood, etc. that resulted from the ENT "scraping" out the stuff that should not have been there.

After she used the attachment on the water pik for a while, the ENT switched her to the squeeze bottle which she & I have used ever since as needed.

[SuperSleeper]

I never tried the squeeze bottle things. I remember reading somewhere that many doctors do not recommend their use because of the increased pressure resulting in water going where it ought not to go (lungs, for instance). They stated that the Neti pot is a less invasive and safer way to irrigate the nasal tissues.

Of course, if one can use the squeeze bottles without getting water into one's lungs, I would think that it would be a more complete way to "flush" the nasal cavities, since it's pressurized water.

[SuperSleeper]

I will answer this because I have recently tried the "squeeze" bottle.

Remember when you took a drink of "coke" and burped it through your nose??? Yah - thats what it's like with out the "sting"!!! I tried for several nights to get use to it. Guess I'm just a big sissy.

I work in a very dusty enviroment. Get done on Friday and by Sunday you could blow your nose and it would not be "black", only to stary all over again on Monday. I blow my nose now and it's not disgusting anymore, well not as bad. With taht being said - I didn't notice the difference of "junk" coming out if I used the pot or the bottle.

[SuperSleeper]

I was digging around on Neli Med's site a few years ago to figure out what was in the packets. The salt (sodium chloride) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) creates a buffered solution so it does not burn.

Caning salt and kosher salt are the same thing chemically--sodium chloride. Common table salt has added iodine and anti-caking agents.

Caning salt is milled much finer so it dissolves fast for canning (Useful for neti pot solutions).