Shooting salt water up my nose everyday & feeling good! Anybody else doing this?

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

USBB - I AM going to try this. I've had problems with my sinuses for eons. I just want to make sure that this is not quackery. Anecdotes are wonderful; I'm sure that this helps most. So, I will follow your advice and try it. I'll input my anecdotal stuff into the mix then.

Glad you are going to try it. Let us know how it works out. Like I said above the first time I tried it I made it too strong and it was very unpleasant! But after talking to some more folks and feeling so bad for so long, I decided to try it again.

I did not buy the nelipot stuff. Just Mortons sea salt from the store without iodine as the iodine really makes your nose burn and causes moderate pain. I am using about 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of warm tap water. I think the milder solution works better for me.

Anyway, now that I know not to mix it too strong it really isn't bad to do.

Usually I just rinse each side while leaning over the sink. Then once a week, I get on the bed and tip my head off the side and drip the salt water in and let it fill the back portions of my sinus passages. I let it soak in there as long as I can stand it and then roll over and let the crud come out on a towel.

It might all just be in my head—although I really don’t think so as I have seen it rinse stuff out of it—but even if it was just all in my head—I have felt horrible for months and am finally feeling good.

Anyway, for most folks. And I don’t think the delivery method is important either whether you use the Nelipot, Nasaline syringe, or just use a mug from the kitchen and a then cloth to drip it in as you recline on the bed. For the price of the salt of about $2 from the local grocery store anyone can put the theory to test for themselves. It might not work for you, but I hope it does. If you feel as I did you get to the point where you will try almost anything.

Keep us posted on how it works out for you. It took me a couple of weeks before I really started feeling great again.

 

[Andi327]

Just ordered a Nasaline syringe kit for my boyfriend. Hope it clears everything up before our dive trip to Bonaire in December.

Anybody have any advice/tips in case it doesn't work? Possibly any meds we should take with us for sinus trouble that can be taken before diving?

 

[Water Science]

It was funny for me to see the question because I just started using the neilmed sinus rinse. I knew about the neti pot for years from doing Yoga but never got into it. I do love the Neilmed system though and I swear I just nipped a cold in the bud with it. Before the sinus rinse I tried the Clear or Xclear nasal wash which is really a spray and not a rinse but it contains xylitol which the manufactures claims has antibiotic properties. I use the xlcear on planes.

Not scuba related but Since we on grossing each other out, I also cannot live without my Toto toilet seat with bidet (for squirting water up the other end). I hate to travel and be without it. Don't laugh people in the "club" swear by it. I got hooked on it while spending a lot of time in Rio. A Brazilian friend explained it this way, If you got poop on your hand would you just wipe it off with paper or would you wash it off?

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Just ordered a Nasaline syringe kit for my boyfriend. Hope it clears everything up before our dive trip to Bonaire in December.

Anybody have any advice/tips in case it doesn't work? Possibly any meds we should take with us for sinus trouble that can be taken before diving?

Do you know what is causing his problems? I have some serious allergy issues and my doc has me taking 2 benedryl before bed every night and Alevert and flonaise (sp?) in the morning. Although since I have been doing the salt water I have dropped the Alevert and flonaise (sp?).

 

[jeraldjcook]

What kind of salts does everyone use?

I'm still using the packets that came with the NeilMed Sinus Rinse kit but when that runs out I'm considering using salt from the grocery store. After checking a few brands of sea salt all seem to have some sort of anti-caking agent in them, which I don't think I want to put up my nose.

For those of you who just use salt, did you notice any difference in effectiveness from the NeilMed stuff that also contains sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)? I read somewhere that it just makes the saline solution more soothing.

 

[muddiver]

Just ordered a Nasaline syringe kit for my boyfriend. Hope it clears everything up before our dive trip to Bonaire in December.

Anybody have any advice/tips in case it doesn't work? Possibly any meds we should take with us for sinus trouble that can be taken before diving?

I use Xclear. I get it at a local vitamin store that carries a lot of natural medications. Anyway, it has Xylitol in it which was originally marketed as a food/drink sweetener. One shot and your sinuses will be clean for the day. Works better than sailine sprays.

 

[tridacna]

What kind of salts does everyone use?

I'm still using the packets that came with the NeilMed Sinus Rinse kit but when that runs out I'm considering using salt from the grocery store. After checking a few brands of sea salt all seem to have some sort of anti-caking agent in them, which I don't think I want to put up my nose.

For those of you who just use salt, did you notice any difference in effectiveness from the NeilMed stuff that also contains sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)? I read somewhere that it just makes the saline solution more soothing.

Best match to natural sea salt is available at any pet store that sells salt for marine aquaria. Just add water and you can snort the Red Sea!

 

[**Scuba_Steve**]

Just got my kit today.

Forget the netting pot thing that doesnt work as well as the sinus rinse. I had to do it a couple of times before it flowed out really good. Lots of junk in the trunk; pretty gross actually but now can i breath. Clearing my ears is also much easier.

 

[ianw2]

Wow! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread! And I mean THANKS!

With the fires in Southern California, our air is really bad. The ash fall outside looks like a light snow storm.

Our sinuses are really paying for it, too. Laura can hardly talk her throat is that bad.

I just went down to the drug store and got the NeilMed neti pot and salt packet kit.

I've just done the treatment and I must say that I'm actually breathing much better now! I almost feel like I'm hyperventilating I'm getting that much more air flow through my nose! Don't even ask what the sink looked like after 8oz of saline/bicarb solution ran through the shnoze.

I was really very sceptical, too.

OK. The house is buttoned up tight and the A/C is on. I've got a "clean" nose. We'll see how this lasts.

Thanks again, everyone!

Cheers!

 

[mfpikeil]

What kind of salts does everyone use?

I'm still using the packets that came with the NeilMed Sinus Rinse kit but when that runs out I'm considering using salt from the grocery store. After checking a few brands of sea salt all seem to have some sort of anti-caking agent in them, which I don't think I want to put up my nose.

For those of you who just use salt, did you notice any difference in effectiveness from the NeilMed stuff that also contains sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)? I read somewhere that it just makes the saline solution more soothing.

My ENT gave me the NeilMed with a recipe that is way cheaper than the packets... 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon of regular table salt (non-iodized) in 8 oz. warm water.... works just as well as the packets, and you probably already have the stuff in your pantry. This came from a real doctor, not a zen-master!