Washing your nose is every bit as normal as brushing your teeth or taking a shower, according to Dr. Oz and Oprah. So what’s with this nose bidet, or neti pot Actually, the nose bidet has been in use for years.
Dr. Oz is not the first physician to recommend them. A regular on Oprah’s TV show, you can read more about Dr. Oz by clicking HERE.
I have sinus problems. My own physician recommended that I wash my nose and said that it would help my sinuses. I didn’t believe him and thought that the whole procedure looked really weird. It did look weird. It still looks weird. But I brush my teeth, and I wash my nose.
The concept behind the neti pot, or nose bidet, is simple. Every day substances and pollutants enter our sinus cavities through our noses. Centuries ago the kinds of materials that entered our bodies through our nose were probably a lot less harmful that the substances that enter our body through our nose today.
So what can be done about it? Simple. Rinse your nose! Enter the neti pot, or nose bidet. People rinsed their noses years ago, long before they were dealing with the pollutants of today.
Sometimes using a neti pot or nose bidet is called irrigating your sinuses. That’s another fancy way to say rinsing out the inside of your nose.
Here’s how to rinse your nose
Put a saline substance in your neti pot, nose bidet or other device. Personally, I use the Neil Med Sinus Rinse. You can read my review about the Neil Med product by clicking HERE.
Use warm water, not hot, not cold – remember this will be going in your nose. If it’s too hot, it will burn. If it’s too cold, you’ll get the worst brain freeze you can ever imagine. Only use warm water.
Then add a mix of non-iodized salt and baking soda to the water mixture. Lean over your sink, lower your head sideways, and pour the water-salt-soda solution in one side of your nose.
The water will run out of the other side of your nose! No, you won’t swallow it, not if your leaning your head over and have it twisted sideways. But you will feel weird, I guarantee it.
Here’s how to make the saline solution
According to National Jewish Hospital in Denver, Colorado, the best solution to use when rinsing your nose is:
* Mix one-half teaspoon uniodized salt in an 8-ounce glass of warm water. Uniodized salt is used because iodized salt may be irritating when used over a long period of time.
* Add a pinch of baking soda. A pinch is a small amount you can pick up between two fingers.
* If you are congested, use the entire 8 ounces of saltwater during the nasal wash; otherwise, 4 ounces should be enough.
Get a neti pot, nose bidet, or Neil Med Sinus Rinse. Rinse your nose and let me know what you think of it. Other than feeling weird, that is.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nose_bidet
http://www.unimedprod.com/
http://www.njc.org/disease-info/treatments/alt-ther/nasal-wash.aspx
