Need Neti Pot help!
A little background first:
I was completely allergy free until about 3 years ago. It began with seasonal allergies- now I'm pretty much blowing my nose every day. Every morning I wake up with clogged sinuses. I heard about the Neti Pot and purchased one, and after a few days of frustrating attempts I am finally able to get the solution to flow through both nostrils. However, after Netipotting my nose runs for a few hours, I sneeze, and my sinuses are still clogged all day- it feels like I just went swimming! (I can feel water running into my ears through my sinuses sometimes when I use it).
Am I still just not doing it right? Does it get better after you use it regularly? Sometimes my nose is so clogged it's almost impossible to get the stream flowing. I wonder if I have some kind of sinus problem....I always blow my nose super hard and I've heard that is bad for your sinuses.
???
Any Neti advice would be appreciated!
I usually just use the Neti when I am sick and it can be alittle diffiicult to get used to. I think it is normal for your nose to run a few hrs later, it is the solution working it way into the sinuses I think.
I've never felt the water run into my ears so I have no help in that area.
silly question, but are you leaning down over the sink when you are using the neti or are you standing straight up? I am just thinking that perhaps the solution is going into your sinuses but not draining out, which is what you want. If I can't get it to drain from the other side I just blow it right back out into the sink. :-[ I guess you want some to stay in the sinuses, but not all of it. know what I mean?
Anyways, I hope I was somewhat helpful, if not, hopefully someone else will come along and give you better advice.
It could be the angle at which you are leaning. Sometimes it takes a few times before you get it right. You shouldnt feel like you are drowning tho. Try tilting ever so slightly differently, breathe thru your mouth.
When you feel it in your nose, do you mean feeling the popping? I have that at times when im really congested. Its getting at the good stuff! lol.
YOu may havea hard time getting it to flow easily if you are congested, but also if you have a very deviated septum...some pple just cant use it.
I do one side, then blow my nose well, but not struggling...the warm fluid should make it come out easily. Then i neti the other side, and blow again. My directions also mentioned leaning over and blowing pretty strongly into the sink...but ive not had to do that.
I do sometimes have water come out later if i bend over or something. Which can be gross. lol.
Give it some more tries, whenn you get it right, it feels awesome. Make sure your water is warm enough too.
I usually just use the Neti when I am sick and it can be alittle diffiicult to get used to. I think it is normal for your nose to run a few hrs later, it is the solution working it way into the sinuses I think.
I've never felt the water run into my ears so I have no help in that area.
silly question, but are you leaning down over the sink when you are using the neti or are you standing straight up? I am just thinking that perhaps the solution is going into your sinuses but not draining out, which is what you want. If I can't get it to drain from the other side I just blow it right back out into the sink. :-[ I guess you want some to stay in the sinuses, but not all of it. know what I mean?
Anyways, I hope I was somewhat helpful, if not, hopefully someone else will come along and give you better advice.
Thanks for your response gardengirl! Yes, I am leaning into the sink. Are you supposed to do it standing? ???
It could be the angle at which you are leaning. Sometimes it takes a few times before you get it right. You shouldnt feel like you are drowning tho. Try tilting ever so slightly differently, breathe thru your mouth.
When you feel it in your nose, do you mean feeling the popping? I have that at times when im really congested. Its getting at the good stuff! lol.
YOu may havea hard time getting it to flow easily if you are congested, but also if you have a very deviated septum...some pple just cant use it.
I do one side, then blow my nose well, but not struggling...the warm fluid should make it come out easily. Then i neti the other side, and blow again. My directions also mentioned leaning over and blowing pretty strongly into the sink...but ive not had to do that.
I do sometimes have water come out later if i bend over or something. Which can be gross. lol.
Give it some more tries, whenn you get it right, it feels awesome. Make sure your water is warm enough too.
Thanks LA! I'll try some more...it just gets frustrating when the saline is running into my mouth or all over my face- everywhere but through my sinuses. When this happens I try to correct my head tilt and that's when I can feel it going into my ears.
I think I might deviate back to the Simply Saline spray. I can handle spraying something into my nose! Baby steps....
Sounds like great advice, GG and LA! I am going to try some of those things, as I have a neti pot but haven't used it much myself...
The yoga teacher who taught me to neti said she never uses it when she's sick...but right now I have a little cold and want to try it. Have you guys had good luck using it when you are congested? :)
Sounds like great advice, GG and LA! I am going to try some of those things, as I have a neti pot but haven't used it much myself...
The yoga teacher who taught me to neti said she never uses it when she's sick...but right now I have a little cold and want to try it. Have you guys had good luck using it when you are congested? :)
Yes, I use it when I am sick. It seems to help me get over my cold quicker, but I am probably wrong.
greenT you are supposed to lean over the sink yes and turn your head so one ear is facing up towards the ceiling and the other is facing down towards the sink. I hate spraying things into my nose, yet neti pot doesn't bother me.
QT...I have used the Neti when i might feel a sniffle coming on, or on the tail end of being sick....but NOT during a full fledged bad cold or sinus thing. You arent really supposed to do it when you are REALLY sick.
and yeah, with tilting your head, one ear up....it can be a matter of just moving your head slightly (like a quarter inch, w/e) up or forward...can make a huge diff.
I hope you can find a good angle...its totally worth it!! the saline sprays help a little, but when you can clear out your head and breathe, i swear to god, its like a drug.
OH...MY...GOURD....I revisited the neti pot last night and you are right, LA...it IS like a drug! I am all hopped up and feeling great! I really think it is miraculously helping my cold disappear! I don't know if kids are "supposed" to do it, but my 5 year old wanted to try it last night too, and now she's hooked as well!! She ran in my room all excited this morning saying she wanted to neti before she even got dressed!
So....it is all a matter of sticking with it and continuing to try until you get it right. I'm so glad I got this cold, otherwise I never would have been motivated to try neti-ing again! Now I'm totally addicted. :)
Has anyone thought of the fact that LucidAnne's picture is what you're supposed to look like when you neti? ;D
Hi--I LOVE the neti pot... i use it to keep allergies at bay. Here are a few ideas for you:
1. Sounds like you already have a neti pot--but for those of you who don't but are interested might want to consider this instead: http://www.neilmed.com/usa/products.php. The use of the bottle eliminates any of the angle difficulties from a neti pot, and the slight pressure from squeezing just makes it (slightly) more forceful, which helps get it through. (Plus I really like the company--they were featured in the NY times recently) I actually use this as my "neti pot." (The little saline packet wrappers do seem somewhat wasteful, but I'm sure you could add your own without buying their packets).
2. Are you using the proper water? They say to use distilled water, but in my experience any warm filtered water will do. Having soem sort of purified or filtered water (i.e., not straight out of the tap) that's the right temperature is so important--when I have problems it's almost always been because I've tried to take a shortcut on the water (not heating it enough, usually)
3. Re: doing it with a bad cold--I tried it and it made my ears all crazy from the pressure. I'd say don't do it if your breathing is all stopped up in a nostril (like mine was)to avoid it--for something more mild you're probably fine.
Best side effect of the neti pot for me--I've always had trouble running (esp. outside) because I get so phlemgy. With the neti I get less phlegmy, which means I can run more!
I am so glad you asked this gT! I seriously want to get a neti but worried that I would fail miserably at it. hahah Thanks for all the good advice all!
Has anyone thought of the fact that LucidAnne's picture is what you're supposed to look like when you neti? ;D
;D
A little background first:
I was completely allergy free until about 3 years ago. It began with seasonal allergies- now I'm pretty much blowing my nose every day. Every morning I wake up with clogged sinuses. I heard about the Neti Pot and purchased one, and after a few days of frustrating attempts I am finally able to get the solution to flow through both nostrils. However, after Netipotting my nose runs for a few hours, I sneeze, and my sinuses are still clogged all day- it feels like I just went swimming! (I can feel water running into my ears through my sinuses sometimes when I use it).
Am I still just not doing it right? Does it get better after you use it regularly? Sometimes my nose is so clogged it's almost impossible to get the stream flowing. I wonder if I have some kind of sinus problem....I always blow my nose super hard and I've heard that is bad for your sinuses.
???
Any Neti advice would be appreciated!
Wanted to share some experience with use of neti pot for clearing sinuses. Having read posts where folks are using neti pot to get rid of sinus blockage and this should be done carefully, as can sometimes make things worse during a cold when there is congestion and infection that gets into the ears.
Using the http://www.neti-pot.com/ingr/ingr450721.cfm Nasaline Sinus Irrigator reduces the tendency for liquid to get into the ears, as you don't have to tilt your head. This only gets the frontal sinuses and doesn't go as deep as the neti pot technique, but I prefer the irrigator most of the time, as really drives me crazy when even a little fluid gets into the Eustachian tube and ear. If you have similar challenges, suggest the large syringe type design with soft tip to gently “plunge” out blocked nasal passages as you control the amount of pressure needed.
The problem is that people sometimes have difficulty with the flow of saline solutions through the nostrils and thus blow too hard to clear out blockage, and this can push liquid and infection back into the ears via the Eustachian tube. once it gets in there is can be hard to get that out, and some will surely resort to the dreaded anti-biotics if seeing a doctor. An alternative to the antibiotics in this case would be http://www.neti-pot.com/SCAT/NORTHAMERICAN_5541.cfm high potency oreganol oil gel caps.
I have used many different http://www.neti-pot.com/neti-pot.cfmNeti Pots. The larger neti pots like the Rhino Horn or Ancient Secrets nasal cleansing pot hold more water than the sinucleanse and himalayan pots, and this provides more pressure to flush things out. having used many different types of salt, have found the best to be the mixture of salt and baking soda. I prefer to use the premixed saline packets rather than make it myself. Hope this might be of help.
Sinucleanse is helpful and a nice flush but it can also be a pain to be honest...I usually just end up having patience for the ocean nasal sprays and using a humidifier....
a big thing for me is having a friend do it for you. I love it, and I get seriously stopped up and have terrible allergies
the guy who draws the toothpaste for dinner cartoons has a humouous video about using a neti pot; if you're into neti pots and lauging at other people's physical pain you should check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQm7YpxgOnA