nasal irrigation

A few weeks ago in the midst of my allergic hell I decided to give nasal irrigation a try. I picked up the NeilMed Sinus Rinse kit — basically a squeeze bottle version of a neti pot — and went to town.

I soon discovered that blasting your sinuses with fluid causes some of it to attempt to escape via your ears and tear ducts. Easy does it.

The instructions recommend using only their special pre-mixed packets and distilled water to make the 8 oz. of solution that fits in the bottle. I found that tap water works just fine…at least in Madison it’s not so nasty that I wouldn’t drink a glass of it. In larger cities I suppose I’d stick with distilled, or at least filtered, water.

I also tried mixing my own solution today because I had run out of the packets provided with the kit. A quick Google survey concluded that the proper mix for an isotonic (same salinity as your sinuses) solution is 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon baking soda per 8 oz. of water. The table salt I have in my pantry happens to be non-iodized salt, which is safe(-ish?), but I wouldn’t recommend trying it with the common variety. It dissolved fine and felt no more uncomfortable than the packet-based solution, and mixing it myself will keep me from having to pay $13/month for the little packets and all the paper waste they create.

Does it work? My allergy symptoms have been better since I’ve been doing this regularly — twice daily when the pollen count was high — and the concept of flushing out the day’s (and night’s) irritants that still remain captive in the nasal cilia and mucus seems sound. It seems like the only way, other than staying fully hydrated, that I can actively keep my breathing as free as possible.