# Neti Pot question...



## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Okay, I broke down and pulled out the neti pot I got for free. I have never used it but have been fighting sinus issues for months. After 2 courses of antibiotics I really want to not let it get that bad again.

so...

This morning I pulled out that neti pot and gave it a try...it hurt. Water didn't flow like I've seen on You Tube from one side to the other. So what do I assume from this?? 

My guess is :
1) sinuses are very swollen
2) I did it wrong (mouth was open - no water went into my mouth so that part was right)
3) The reason I have sinus issues all the time is because they are "set up" wrong.....like my hips.

Any BTDT help? Do I keep doing it once or twice a day and see if it improves? It hurt the same way it did when I was a kid and got water up my nose in the pool. 45 min later my eyes still are sore and I'm down to a minor headache.


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## Halfway (Nov 22, 2010)

It does take a bit of practice.

If you are very clogged, it will not flow. Insure you can breath easy through each nostril. If not, clear the snot and try again. Pay careful attention to your head tilt and use a mirror if need be.

Once you get it right it will be easier each time.


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## FarmChix (Mar 3, 2013)

Was the water at room temperature? Are you using the right proportions on the baking soda and sea salt? If the water is warm or cold....it will not feel good. If you use too much baking soda (should be 2:1 proportion), it will burn like FiRe!!!! Also, make sure you are using the appropriate amount of the mixture in your pot. Should dissolve after it is in there. And ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS sterilize neti pot after use......


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## RubyRed (Sep 24, 2011)

Also, it is important that you use distilled water, not tap.


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

Every time i try using it i feel like i am going to drown!! LOL Just can't get the knack of it i guess. I just snort and spit now, but i would like to master the neti. Lots of benefits. Maybe next time I try I will wear my life jacket!!! LMAO :drum:


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

I didn't have anything in the water...just water. Since it was my first time I didn't want to have the chance of getting "solution" all over anything including myself. The temp was "body temp". I'm not "congested" per se. I can breath through both side and have no "snot". What I have it pressure in my sinus cavities.....likely swelling. I'll try again tomorrow....I had a biopsy today, so I'm not up to "messing" with it.

I appreciate everyone's responses. My mom has started to snort salt water every morning. Her Dr said that's likely the reason she hasn't had a sinus infection in 3 yrs. Since I get sinus infections frequently, I want to try to use the neti for the same purpose....preventative.

I didn't sterilize the neti after usage....will do that before using it again. If I do it after, I'll still want to do it again before using....my house isn't THAT clean, lol.


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## KentuckyDreamer (Jan 20, 2012)

We swear by the Neti pot. After two years, my eight year old is able to do it on his own.

Basically, he / we tip our head sideways. We use warm water and the pre packaged saline packs. If the water does not flow we know we are clogged. We just keep pouring it in and let it sit a few seconds. Eventually it flows. 

We usually use at least one packet and a full pot per nostril.


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## paradox (Nov 19, 2012)

I have never tried a neti pot. My doc always recommends the Neilmed system. It is the same principle, but the salt mixture is premixed and measured (packet you empty into bottle) and it is a squeeze bottle instead of using gravity flow so you don't have to worry so much about the angle to get it to pour through. So my experience is with that and I don't know if it is helpful. 

Once I was out of packets and tried just water and it burned. Also like someone above mentioned - don't use tap water - the chlorine burns. I use just bottled water or I boil our well water and then let it cool. 

Also the fact that it wouldn't go through might have been trouble with the angle but you could also have a clog. A cousin of mine was using the Neilmed (per same doctors instructions) and he could not get the water to go through either. Doc told him to keep trying a few times a day with warm solution and be patient. Finally one day he felt something shift and....

....if you are weak stomached maybe you should stop reading now....

A clog broke loose. He said it was hay, dirt, green snot, and what looked like a little blood. It just kind of plopped into the sink. He said it was amazingly large - you wouldn't think that much stuff could be stuck up there. And he could suddenly breath better than he had in years. Also he quit clearing his throat all the time. That clog was forcing everything to run down his throat and he cleared it all the time. Now he doesn't have that issue.

So it could be a clog of stuff - if you do things like farming that has you breathing in lots of stuff all the time. Or your sinus passages could simply be swollen. When they get irritated they swell. Many cases of "congestion" are actually just swelling and not mucus blockage.


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## [email protected] (Apr 1, 2009)

Paradox for we who suffer from sinuses the large matter dislodging sounds like heaven lol, Check out the Book Sinus Survival, you all will love it if you haven't seen it already. Here you go 
Sinus Survival: The Holistic Medical Treatment for Allergies, Colds, and Sinusit It sells pretty reasonable on Epay


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## Osiris (Jun 9, 2010)

Not sure from experience, but I don't think you're supposed to use them if you have an infection. I've never used one but those I've talked to say it works (once you get used to it) Logically, I think it's a great idea tho. 

I immediately thought of this - LOL
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQm7YpxgOnA[/ame]


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## Rita (May 13, 2002)

After reading about a person in Louisiana (?) getting the brain-eating bacteria from using a neti pot and his city water, I would boil and cool any water I used. I guess distilled would be o.k. without boiling.


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## thesedays (Feb 25, 2011)

I always boil the water first, and use it when it gets to BODY temperature. I also use the NeilMed packets that came in the kit (the kit had 50 and I still have a couple dozen) and don't have any problems.

I personally only use it whenever I feel something brewing.


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## tracylee (Jun 29, 2013)

It does take some practice using the neti pot. We get our sinuses adjusted at the chiropractors regularly and this helps keep the sinuses open. We even have our 6 year old grandsons sinuses and ears adjusted to keep the canals open. Keep practicing you'll get it.


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## gimpy (Sep 18, 2007)

You don't need sea salt, just don't use iodized salt. It'll burn. Just get the cheap canister of non-iodized salt.

The water doesn't need to be distilled but at a minimum you want the water to sit overnight to let the chlorine to evaporate out or again, it'll burn. Boiling and letting it cool will also remove the chlorine and is a very reasonable safety safety measure.

If the water isn't flowing from side to side either you are really clogged up and should see an ENT specialist or you need to reevaluate your technique and see the hints above.

Chiropractors adjusting sinuses and ears? No way, thank you. Not me. Those are sealed and fused bone joints. The only way that they could, "adjust," anything is by causing serious damage.


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## krochetnkat (Dec 19, 2013)

If you have well water, never use it straight from the tap. Boil or use distilled water! ( http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tap-water-in-neti-pots-behind-two-brain-eating-amoeba-deaths-in-2011-investigation-finds/ )I don't use the neti pot, only the bulb syringe because I found the neti pot ackward. It will burn if you don't use the right amount of salt and can be uncomfortable if it isn't the right temperature. I love nasal irrigation. Since I have been doing it, I've had so few sinus infections (where I used to get them frequently) and I swear it even helps with my allergies. It's a godsend


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## Steve in PA (Nov 25, 2011)

It's a learned art to get it to flow from one side to the other. I think you actually have to override a primative reflex in order for it to happen. Something like the gag reflex for example. SSome people just are never able to manage it, some it comes easy, and some learn over time.

I finally convinced my wife to try and after years of sinus problems she's relatively symptom free. She "nose douches" as my son named it 2x a week sick or not. She's learned to make it go side to side. My son's problems have cleared too but he only does it when he has issues.

I never had a problem with side to side but I've always thought it had to do with all the swimming I did as a kid.


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## paradox (Nov 19, 2012)

Steve in PA said:


> It's a learned art to get it to flow from one side to the other. I think you actually have to override a primative reflex in order for it to happen. Something like the gag reflex for example. SSome people just are never able to manage it, some it comes easy, and some learn over time.
> 
> I finally convinced my wife to try and after years of sinus problems she's relatively symptom free. She "nose douches" as my son named it 2x a week sick or not. She's learned to make it go side to side. My son's problems have cleared too but he only does it when he has issues.
> 
> I never had a problem with side to side but I've always thought it had to do with all the swimming I did as a kid.


That is why I like the Neilmed. You just squeeze the bottle and it goes through. It doesn't rely on angle or gravity flow.


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## Steve in PA (Nov 25, 2011)

paradox said:


> That is why I like the Neilmed. You just squeeze the bottle and it goes through. It doesn't rely on angle or gravity flow.


We use those too. Still takes practice for some to get it through.


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

If you look at the packaging for the Nettie Pot they say that sinus washes are more effective. They are both made by Neilmed. Somebody gave us a sinus/nasal wash thing from the makers of the Nettie Pot. When I was sick recently I got a big box of 100 sachets of the saline mix for around $11. I made it myself but it burned so badly that I thought it was woth the money.

The washes are easy to use. You stick the tip up to your nose and squeeze. Water should run out of the other nostril. If you are very congested it might not come out. If that happens don't use the wash. How long did you take antibiotics? When DD first started getting sinus infections they would put her on six weeks of antibiotics.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

I use the Walgreen pkts. with boiled well water brought to room temp. There have been some deadly infections down south from just using water out of the tap. Reducing the inflammation feels good, helps me to smell the fragrance of outdoors and helps to unpop my ears sometimes. I don't use a neti pot. I use a big tablespoon.


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