<p>Another neti fan here. I use the little pot and use a full packet of mixture with lukewarm water. As soon as you do it, you think “wow, this is what it should feel like to breath!” My daughter, a singer, uses the squeeze bottle one every day. It has cut back dramatically on colds. She won’t go without it. There is no sensation, for me, of drowning or even of water going where it’s not supposed to.</p>
<p>I have the squeeze bottle type. Used it (and generally liked it) when I had a sinus infection last winter, but disliked the leaning over the sink part - my hair seemed to always get in the way. Next time I’ll try using in the shower; that sounds much easier.
Caution: Do not use hot water. Not even very warm water. Burning inside your nose is not good.
I think I may like it better next time if I go with half the salt, because I felt like I was smelling salt all morning. Also, my sinuses may have strange convolutions because for the next hour or two I got water in my nose whenever I tilted my head in a new direction.</p>
<p>Whoa, I did it. Encouraged by so many positive posts, I watched a NeilMed video first, then dropped a packet of mixture in, filled my pot with 8oz of warm water and started rinsing ! The drowning sensation only lasted one second but I survived.
Hope I can lose my steroid nasal spray now.
Thank you all.</p>
<p>I’m a neti faithful, and so is my S who suffers from sinus infections. It does take some getting used to, but once you do, you learn to love that nice clear feeling in your head.</p>
<p>I have never used packets of anything, I just use sea salt. A flat teaspoon in 8 ounces of water works fine. If you use too much salt, it will sting. If too little, you will feel a pressure feeling. It’s really not a big deal – you can just add a little water, or a little more salt if it doesn’t feel right. If you have the right amount, it will feel soothing, not at all like inhaling sea water. Just make sure that the salt dissolves completely. I usually use a little hot water and salt, stir, then add the rest of the water. You want it to be warm, not hot.</p>
<p>One important thing while using is to tuck your chin into your neck a little. Otherwise, the water may run down your throat into your mouth. Again, no biggie. There are a lot of channels in our heads, apparently! Once you get over your qualms about doing it, it is so easy.</p>
<p>After using the neti, it’s good to bend over and hang your head, crown of head down. hang for a bit, then turn your head to one side while still bent over, close off the top nostril and blow out the bottom (into a tissue, of course). Then do the other side. Finish by blowing both nostrils while your face is looking down at the floor.</p>
<p>Have fun ;)</p>
<p>Is sea salt easy to find?</p>
<p>Oh no-- now my DH (who just got back into town Fri) has my cold. And he is prone to sinus infections. :(</p>
<p>I bought one, and haven’t worked up the courage to use it yet. One thing that my doctor recommended that works pretty well though is a saline nasal spray. It’s not prescription, and I think it’s a bit similar to the neti pot except that you spray the saline (like any other spray) instead of pouring it, which somehow seems easier to stomach. I got it at CVS.</p>
<p>Do jym626 have you tried a NetiPot yet? They do work, just ask my sister who developed allerigies, congestion for the first time in her life, and claims it is the only thing that worked for her. She won’t leave home without it ! </p>
<p>It’s really very doable, remember to breath through your mouth, room temp water, and 1/2 the salt mixture (or whatever is suggested).
(Yoga teachers encourage their use)</p>
<p>The saline spray is helpful too but is really not comparable to what a neti pot does. Seriously, you won’t believe how different breathing feels after using the neti pot.</p>
<p>Jym - get your H a neti pot to use before he clogs up. It is not recommended to use it after there is a lot of congestion because the water can be forced into places it doesn’t belong. The best time to use it is at the onset of symptoms.</p>
<p>Is there anyone who has actually used a neti pot and NOT found it helpful?</p>
<p>I don’t like any of the allergy medicines I’ve tried, and have been Ok for the past few years just taking an occasional OTC allergy and sinus pill for symptoms. However, I am really suffering these past two weeks…after having a respite for a few years (menopause???) of really horrible allergies.</p>
<p>I am among those on this thread who probably need to use it…but can’t get up the “courage” to use it. So far, there appear to be no negative comments on this thread from those who have actually used it…so…maybe I’ll get up the nerve to try it.</p>
<p>I tried it for the first time last night after having the neti pot sitting around for more than a year. I did it about 2 hours before bedtime but during the night my left nostril developed slight congestion. This is the side which gets clogged up most often due to enlarged turbinates. However, as soon as I elevated my head, the congestion disappeared and I was fine the rest of the night. I am wondering if the mixture(NeilMed) caused a slight allergy reaction since that was my first time.</p>
<p>2boysima, if I could do it, so can you. It’s really not bad. I used the neti pot, not the squeeze bottle, though I have one of those as well.</p>
<p>The only negative comes from ds1, who gets irritated that it doesn’t work IMMEDIATELY. :rolleyes: His other issue is that he waits too long to start using it, when his symptoms are really bad, rather than use it as a preventative.</p>
<p>I recommend doing it several hours before going to bed or reclining when you first start using it so the water can drain completely out. Notice how long it takes for complete drainage and then gauge how close to bedtime you can use it.</p>
<p>Thanks to this thread, I asked about this at S’s allergist today. Left with 2 neti pots and 2 squirt bottles (in case we like those better).</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your helpful hints.</p>
<p>Let us know how it goes!</p>
<p>SouthJerseyChessMom-
I am still trying the eyedropper saline method-- havent gotten to the “netipot store” yet :)</p>
<p>But sounds like several cc’ers have used it since the thread started a day ago. Maybe my work here is done ;)</p>
<p>No, jym, your work is down when you do a full-out neti!</p>
<p>^^ The only thing “down” will be the stuff coming out of…</p>
<p>Sorry. Never mind. But I did enjoy the typo :D</p>
<p>Okay, now I have a question. Should I expect a lot of stuff to come out of my nose when I use a neti pot? Even though I’m often quite stuffy, nothing has ever comes out except the solution that went in, plus a bit of normal mucus. Nothing darker or thicker than you’d find in a tissue after a good sneeze. So why do I read about people finding so many more sinister-looking things in the washout?</p>
<p>OK-- now I definitely am not using it— ewww. Cant get the images out of my head!!!</p>
<p>What was that song?? Great green globs of greasy grimy gooey stuff… mutilated monkeys meat… (I forget the rest–some animals feet…) and I forgot my spoon… la la la…</p>