Image by Sherrie Super
Salt Water to Improve Sinus Health
For centuries, people have been putting salt water up their nose to improve their sinus health. Simple methods such as inhaling salt water or using a tea pot like device have been used. Modern man, however, has become inventive in creating similar yet additional ways. Below is a list of the ancient and modern methods of nasal rinsing that I’m aware of:
1. Ocean Water – Probably the most ancient method of rinsing the nasal passages. Just jump in the ocean and inhale the water. I don’t know that I’d recommend that to anymore as Baraka fans who surf complain about polluted waters and their own troubles with sinus infections. Makes me sad.
2. Bowl of Water – My grandpa used to do this. Mix some salt in a bowl of water, scoop it into the palm of your hand and inhale! Why not?!
3. Neti Pot – This technique is known as Jala Neti and can be found in Ayurvedic medicine. A neti pot can be made from ceramic or metal materials but many modern day ones are made of plastics in various shapes. With the head tilted to one side, the spout is inserted into the top nostril where water flows through and out the other side. Gravity is used to move the water.
4. Positive Pressure Nasal Rinsing Devices – These devices often look like a water bottle or oversized syringe. The idea is to exert pressure onto the device which then pushes water into the sinus cavities. Similar to the neti pot, water goes in one nostril and out the other. But unlike the neti pot, you are generally standing upright instead of tilting your head to one side.
5. Waterpik or Devices Like It – A mechanized positive pressure device. Think of it like a motorized water hose which uses an electric pump to push water through the sinus cavities.
It’s obvious that I prefer a neti pot to the other nasal rinsing methods. It’s clean (unlike the ocean) and doesn’t slop water about the bathroom like my grandpa used to do. But mainly, I prefer it because it doesn’t exert pressure, and potentially push fluid, into the Eustachian tubes. And strangely enough, most of these devices tell you NOT to rinse when you are congested!! Say what?!
Whatever your choice- nasal rinsing rocks! And if you want to see some crazy, unorthodox ways people go about rinsing, search “neti pots” on You Tube. Some folks get really creative!
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