I have been fighting a sever sinus infection. I have heard Dr. Oz on his TV show talking about the neti pot. He says it's great for anyone suffering with sinus problems as it cleans out sinus cavities. I don't have the approximately $20.00 for purchasing this so I decided that there had to be some way of inventing my own little neti pot. I thought long and hard about this.
My light bulb finally lit! I took a water bottle that I put in my recycle plastics bin. I had previously saved some tops from water bottles that had the pull up squirt top. I found one that fit my bottle so all was good. I mixed me some warm salt water in the bottle.
I placed it up to one nostril and gave a slight squeeze and the salt water came out through the other nostril, just like the demo Dr. Oz gave on TV. Along with the water came a lot of sinus congestion. This worked beautifully and it didn't cost me anything. I have been using my "neti pot" several times a day and it is great.
By Tricia M. from Ridgeway, VA
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
Just a word or caution; I, too had a persistent sinus problem. 8 months later I found out it is cancer. I will be having radical surgery on the first of Feb. They will take my upper left jaw and cheek bone and part of the roof of my mouth.
Ouch for the last person about the cancer.
Many years ago, when I was a child, my mom told me that her father, my grandfather, was a carpenter & every night when he came home, he sniffed warm salt water up his nose to clean everything out.
I have done this for decades & I have horrible sinus'. I checked into neti pots when they became popular, but just pouring the warm salt water in one nostril & letting it drain out the other side, doesn't really get it up into the sinus passages, that are hard to reach & very fine.
What I've always done, was make up about 16oz of really warm salt water, I pour some of the mix into my right hand that is cupped & sniff, but I press the palm of the hand with the salt water against one nostril or another. As you sniff, you close off your throat, cause you don't want to swallow that stuff coming out, then spit. After a few times on each side, stop & blow like you would when blowing your nose. Press one nostril & then the other. When you have it fairly clear, do the rest of the glass. Then blow again when you are done & of course rinse off everything, cause the salt water splashes, then wash up.
When you are all done & dry, get some Kleenex or an old t-shirt to use as a cloth one, cause it's very soft. I have saved a lot of cloth things for this purpose. When you have sinus issues, your nose can get really sore. I just toss them into the hot white wash when I need to clean them. It sounds disgusting, but they always come out clean.
Then with the clean cloth, bend over at the waist & just bounce a little & turn your head from side to side as you are blowing. This gets the stuff from way up inside that can make your head ache. This can be done many x's a day, but give yourself at least 2 ours before bed to get the remaining blows out, so you can sleep with out having to keep doing it. I use sea salt, as it's much more healing on the sinus' & has many trace elements that are good for you. Table salt is really only good for killing snails & salting the driveway;not good for the body. It really is a poison & after using sea salt (I use Celtic sea salt) for a while, you'll never go back, the taste is so much better for food & your body.
This is a really great idea, the homemade "neti pot". I, too, have seen and heard about the benefits of sinus "cleaning" - I have family members who swear by it as well. I've never tried an actual neti pot, but I have tried using a technique similar to the one described above (the snuffing the water one), although I don't exactly "snuff" the water per-se, as to me, snuffing water in that way just compounds my sinus congestion (I think it's the snuffing, not the water, as it works very well when I don't snuff it).
Be careful that the straight saline solution doesn't dry out your sinus membranes too much. Most prepackaged solutions also contain a buffer to prevent drying. Drying will cause those membranes to become inflamed with will lead to feeling congested even though you are not.
The basic recipe for a homemade neti pot solution is to combine eight ounces (.24 liters) of warm water with half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of baking soda. Be sure to use purified or distilled water or water that you have boiled and allowed to cool to eliminate certain minerals and other impurities.
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
