Suffering From Allergies Like Me? A Neti Pot Can Help!

I have been using a neti pot for about a year and a half now.  Practically every day without fail, I prepare the simple solution of non-iodized salt and warm water in my neti pot.  Then I perform the cleansing rinse of the nasal passages by pouring the solution in one nostril and out the other.  It’s weird, to be sure, but I soon got used to it and now I actually look forward to it.  I like having allergens and gunk actually being washed away.

Being a long time sufferer of sinus troubles and allergies, I had been aware of the neti pot for years.  Being pre-internet, and before Oprah and Dr. Oz got on the neti pot bandwagon, I for the life of me couldn’t figure out how to use a neti pot from a book!  So I suffered from chronic sinus infections and terrible allergies come spring and fall.  Dousing myself with allergy medications and trips to the doctor for antibiotics when a sinus infection set in.  Well, thank goodness, there was a resurgence of the neti pot about two years ago.  Dr. Oz demonstrated how to actually use it on the Oprah show.  YouTube videos on it’s use also abounded.  So I purchased one, started using it, and never quit!

The neti pot is actually a Yoga practice that has been around for 5,000 years.  I figure that anything that’s been around that long without negative effects is worth a try.  Not only does it help my allergies immensely, it seems to have a calming effect and I definitely feel cleansed.  I still have my allergies, but I’d say my allergy medication use is down about 75%.  My sinus problems have almost entirely cleared up, with only an occasional sinus headache.

There is a humorous side effect of neti pot use.  Sometimes, hours after using it, when I bend over a flood of water will come rushing out of my nose.  Where has this water been all this time?  In some recess of my brain?  I do have to remember to now, after using it, to bend over and blow all excess solution out of my nose to avoid this.  It happened once when I was at the library bending over to get a book on the shelf…I was madly grabbing for tissue, anything, to stop the flood!

It’s definitely worth spending a few minutes a day performing this age-old practice.  Practically free too.  Incredibly effective…can’t beat that!

Marilyn