Filed under: household hacks, miscellaneous, preventative maintenance

It’s been a miserable year for allergy sufferers: everyone I know who has problems with ragweed, including me, felt sickly for months.

Now that it’s nearly December, it’s just about duration for everyone to come down with colds and flus. Many happen at that duration of year, due to germs passed around during social gatherings and holiday shopping, nasal passage dryness caused by artificial indoor heating, and the indoor allergies that proliferate in colder areas during the winter.

Constant congestion can lead to sinus infections, which require a visit to the doctor, and antibiotics, to clear up (even whether the initial illness was viral). But there’s some simple maintenance you can do that will nip a potential sinus infection in the bud: rinsing out your sinuses, plus known as nasal or sinus irrigation or lavage.

This may seem gross, but most humans who try it find it extremely helpful. It clears out stagnant mucous and helps to moisturize your nasal passages. It’s my number-one “Don’t get sick!” tip. Find supplies, recipes, and directions after the break.

Sinus irrigation is not the same thing as using a saline nasal spray like Ocean. Those sprays can be useful, considering they will help moisturize your nasal tissue and dry up congestion. But they don’t do anything to clear mucous, wet or dry, out of your nose or sinuses.

If you had a skin contact allergy to a substance, and that substance was all by your hands, you’d definitely wash your hands to get it off of you, right? Sinus irrigation chases the same concept: get the allergens and the excess mucous out before sufficient illness-causing bacteria can grow in the mucous to build you sick.

Ear infections may be minimized; some are just sinus infections in an adjacent location. Sinus irrigation can additionally be helpful for sufferers of sleep apnea and other respiratory problems.

Since following that regime, I have gone from having chronic severe sinus and ear infections to not needing antibiotics at any moment in the past year. A study done at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health shows that my results are standard among humans who try nasal irrigation.

And in spite of a general fear of putting water up your nose, it’s not painful. Once they get used to it, most citizens prefer the feeling of the irrigation to the feeling of congestion. whether you follow the directions, you are unlikely to inhale any water.

The tools of the trade

There’s a popular recent article on Instructables about sinus rinses, but the author recommends using a gravity-method neti pot, which can be uncomfortable for some humans: you must pour the water into your nose at an upwards angle.

Neti pots are widely sold in health food stores that market alternative medical products. They’re plus sold in most American drugstores under the name SinuCleanse. It’s suggested that whether you purchase a neti pot, you should look for one with a conical tip: it will seal to your nostril better than the kind that looks more like a watering can with a faraway, slender spout.

Neti pot usage is a popular YouTube subject. (Who can resist watching a guy pour water through his nose?)

• Yogic Nasal Irrigation in the Home (1:17): “If [Pete isn’t] careful some of the salt water comes out of his eye (like at the beginning).”
• Cleaning out your nose (0:50): A teapot just isn’t as effective.
• Neti Pot in Action (1:45): Hey, look, it’s a girl. And she’s doing a pretty good demonstration of nasal irrigation, with a style of neti pot called the Rhino Horn. (Get the nose pun, there?)
• Neti Pot How-To (3:02): Nicely produced video demo.

Other systems use “positive pressure,” which is the same thing as squeezing water up your nose. I prefer these systems; folks who don’t like one may like the other.

I like the NeilMed Sinus Rinse bottle, which is used by bending at the waist by a sink, placing the nozzle at your nostril, and squeezing. It has a small tube that runs from its top to the bottom of the bottle, keeping air from getting into your nose as you rinse. The bottle is available in several sizes: special use (very small), pediatric, regular (8 ounces) for most adults, and extra-large (16 ounces).

Doctors additionally recommend using the nasal aspirators that are made for babies, similar ear bulb syringes, and the “spout bottles” that are made for travel (the kind with a “pull-up, push-down” cap that plus acts as a squirting nozzle). There are higher-end systems that attach to a Teledyne Water-Pik, and similar stand-alone products.

Here are several types of bottles and pots that you can try. Please note that I have never purchased from these retailers: I am neither endorsing nor condemning them, but they may have what you need.

• NeilMed Sinus Rinse starter kit: You can plus find that at WalMart and most drugstores.
• NasalCare: Similar to the NeilMed Sinus Rinse system, but there are some differences in bottle design.
• SinuCleanse Squeeze: Similar to NeilMed and NasalCare.
• Nasopure: Similar to the three previous systems, but the bottle is held upside-down.
• Nasaline: Like a giant syringe. They even have a Nasaline YouTube video, about two minutes expanded.
• SaltAire Nasal Sinus Wash: A pre-mixed solution that comes pre-packaged in a manual pump bottle.
• Stainless steel neti pot
• NeilMed NasaFlo neti pot
• Rhino Horn neti pot
• Grossan HydroPulse Nasal/Sinus Irrigation System: that is similar to the sytems that hook up to a Water-Pik, but it is purpose-built for sinus rinses. It may be worth purchasing whether you rinse frequently. Many health insurance companies will reimburse you for its purchase.
• More products are available at Achoo! Allergy & Air Products and National Allergy.

Mixing a solution

You can purchase rinsing solution, or you can buy pre-mixed solutions from some of the aforementioned companies in your local drugstore. Or, you can construct your own.

Water used to invent a solution should be either recently boiled and allowed to cool to at least a lukewarm temperature, or distilled water that has been heated to a comfortable temperature. (The boiled water can be reheated, too.)

For the most basic solutions, some society recommend using just salt and warm water. There are several such recipes out there, but most recipes, and most commercial preparations, use a combination of non-iodized salt and baking soda. The baking soda is added to buffer the salt solution, so that it won’t sting while you’re using it. It can additionally neutralize some of the nasal odors caused by infections.

Salt used for sinus irrigation should be non-iodized: the iodine makes rinsing with iodized salt unpleasant for some folks. Coarse sea salt is ideal, but kosher salt will additionally work. (Ultimately, all salt is sodium chloride. There is no need to use super-gourmet stuff when you’re going to be dissolving it in water and running it through your nose, so don’t bother hunting down anything in an interesting color or texture; the pink or blue salt from Whole Foods is not going to manufacture that any more effective than it already is.)

Recipes differ, however, in the other ingredients and in the exact proportions of the salt and baking soda. The aim is for a solution that has the approximate salt concentration of the human body: about 0.9% (that’s one-tenth of one percent).

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology has a recipe on their site, which is additionally available as a PDF download. that recipe uses 3 parts “pickling or canning” salt to 1 part baking soda:

• Use a clean container.
• Mix three heaping teaspoons of iodine-free salt with one rounded teaspoon of baking soda.
• Store in a small, airtight container.
• Add 1 teaspoon of mixture to 8 ounces of lukewarm water.
• If stinging occurs, use less of the mixture in the water.
• Use 4 ounces of water and 1/2 teaspoon of mixture for children.

On the other hand, the Allergies subject at About.com suggests:

• 8 ounces of warm water
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon non-iodized salt
• A pinch of baking soda, or more, as needed.

Dr. Terrence Davidson, of the University of California at San Diego’s School of Medicine, recommends the following in his Handbook of Nasal Disease:

• 1 to 2 level teaspoons of salt
• 1 pint of tap water amidst 72^o Fahrenheit and 102^o Fahrenheit
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, but only whether you experience a burning sensation without it.

The Apnea Support Forum (which has a great writeup of sinus irrigation resources) published that formula, from the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Scripps Clinics in La Jolla, CA. The corn syrup is intended to imitate your body’s sugar concentration. I have not found it essential, but others may wish to try it.

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon white Karo syrup
• 1 pint warm water
• The prepared solution will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Ultimately, it doesn’t seem to matter much which solution you use: all are effective to some degree. Most seem to use either equal amounts of salt and baking soda, or half as much baking soda as salt, and most use within 1/4 and 1 teaspoon of salt per 8 ounces of water.

If you choose to buy premixed solution, you don’t need to purchase the same sort of solution as your bottle: I often buy SinuCleanse rather than NeilMed to use with my NeilMed bottle. Both makes come out to around ten cents per rinse, but SinuCleanse comes in a box of 50 and NeilMed comes in a box of 100. Do I really want to spend ten dollars at a day on packets of salt and baking soda, particularly when my cabinet space is limited? (No.)

There are plus hypertonic solution recipes out there, which are essentially a greater percentage of salt in the salt-to-water ratio. They are saltier than your own physiological chemistry, and are used in an attempt to dry up swollen nasal tissues. There is some mild controversy by whether or not they dry tissue out too much, which can leave the nose’s owner more vulnerable to infection.

(The cilia in your nose are tiny, moving hairs that help eliminate undesirable material. Studies seem to show that, despite its other benefits, a hypertonic solution can interfere with their operate.)

Irrigation time

To do the rinse, you’ll need to mix the solution you choose. Lukewarm water (98.6° F) is best: water that’s too hot or cold can be uncomfortable.

Follow the usage directions for the bottle or pot that you’re using. whether you choose to use a travel “spout” bottle, or a bulb syringe, you’ll need directions.

1. Wash your hands and manufacture certain your bottle is clean.
2. Fill the bottle with your rinse solution and go to the sink. whether using a nasal aspirator or ear bulb syringe, squeeze the bulb to push as much air out as possible, hold the nozzle in the prepared rinse solution, and release the bulb to fill it with liquid. (You may have to repeat that after each squeeze.)
3. Bend by above the sink as much as possible, but don’t hold your breath or close your mouth: once you’re used to the procedure, it’s completely possible to breathe through your mouth while you do it, without choking.
4. Hold the bottle up to one nostril, so that its nozzle is nearly up your nose, and squeeze. (If it’s a bulb syringe or nasal aspirator, it will need to be inserted in your nostril as far as “the width of a fingertip,” according to the Mayo Clinic, in their instructional video.) The water in it should jet up that nostril, through your sinus cavity, and out the other nostril, into the sink. You’ll probably plus see some mucous. Some water may plus drain out of your mouth.
5. Repeat for each nostril. The order doesn’t matter. With the spout bottle, there’s some danger of air going up with your rinse solution, which will sting. Feel free to refill the bottle once whether you need to, after you’ve used about half its contents, so that you’ll have more solution than air in the bottle.
6. Clean your bottle. (For me, that usually means at least a thorough rinse under very hot running water both before and after I use the bottle. Once in a while, I wipe off the piece that touches my nose with a disposable antibacterial towelette a few times, thereupon rinse it again. The rest of the date, I put a bit of dish soap into the palm of my hand and wash it that way. I’ve done sinus irrigation a few times a week for the past two years, from the same bottle, and have never been infected by a dirty bottle.)

If you can tolerate it, it’s plus helpful to sniff in whatever water remains in your nose, thereupon spit it out (it will most likely go to your mouth when you sniff). Tilting your head to the side should produce more from one nostril than the other, and more than sniffing with your head held erect. whether water goes down the back of your throat, try to spit it out instead of swallowing it.

After you’ve done the rinse, hold a couple of tissues to your nose. Do the following things slowly:

1. Bend at the waist, getting your head as low as you can. Somewhere around your knees is good. (It’s totally OK to bend your knees whether you need to: you’re not doing stretches.)
2. Blow your nose, and tilt your head to each side, letting water drain.
3. Stand up straight.
4. Get a new tissue, handkerchief, or folded paper towel, and repeat steps 1-3 at least once.

A rush of water should come out of your nose during steps two and three. It’s better to be prepared for that event, rather than bending by to pick something up and having your nose drip all by the floor, or going to bed and having the water drip out of your nose while you sleep. I have learned all that through unlucky experience.

When to rinse your sinuses

You can do the rinses as often as several times each day to help clear out and dry up congestion, or you can wait until you’re starting to feel under the weather. The University of Wisconsin study shows that most humans who develop a nasal irrigation habit will do it around three times each week.

However, whether you’re already sick — i.e., so thickly congested that the rinse can’t get through your sinuses and come out the opposite nostril, and that congestion is green or brown — you’re out of luck. date to shout your doctor.

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Original post by M.E. Williams

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