QUESTION:
Hello,
Can someone please share with me the main difference between using a Neti-Pot (w/ Saline) and just rinsing the nasal mucosa with Saline? This is for a family member with Allergies. My thought is that the Neti-Pot is more thorough with the force of the irrigation (plus you can additional things), yet I’m not sure if that’s the most significant difference. Your thoughts as well?
Thank you!
ANSWER:
With a neti pot, you get the water deep into the sinuses where the pollen sits.
Without a neti pot, one cannot really get into the sinuses well if you just rinse the nose with saline. They’ll still have allergies as the allergen is likely residing in the sinuses, not just the entrance to the nose.
You may have them break some anti-histamine things in there also like Vitamin C, urtica tincture, quercetin, etc into the neti pot along with baking soda and salt
Dr Ben, ND
Technorati: neti pot, sinusitis, allergies, nasal wash, saline, neti
I recently had a sinus infection. I had actually read on the WebMD website to try a saline rinse with a Neti Pot instead of going to the doctor for an antibiotic since most sinus infections were virus related and not bacteria. In the past, it seemed only antibiotics worked when I would get one, but I decided to try the saline rinse knowing that if it failed, I would visit my doctor for an antibiotic.
I bought one at Walgreens (had the pot and saline packs). After one day (I rinsed 3 times the first day), I started noticing less nasal drip and I started spitting out large chunks of thick mucous. After 2 days (I still rinsed 3 times that day) my nose started pouring out thin yellow discharge and the thick yellow discharge that I was spitting up was decreasing.
After 3 days ( I rinsed only twice), I was almost cured! My nose only had brief episodes of drainage and the drainage was now clear instead of yellow. I had almost no thick discharge to spit out and what little I did was no longer yellow as it was in the beginning.
I was skeptical at first and just “knew” I needed an antibiotic but in 3 days, my nose was almost well! I kept it up till the minor drainage episodes stopped completely.
I noticed one other positive effect. The saline rinse worked as well as an anti-histimine and decongestant. My nasal passages shrank and the drainage started drying up without taking any medication. And the results lasted an average of 10 hours when my nose was at it’s worse (dripping and stuffy).
I had also began to get hoarse with this infection, but it cleared up as quick as my nose did using nothing but the saline rinse.
I am no longer skeptical about it. It works!