Reduce Nasal Congestion

Why Hypertonic Rinses Work

Most neti pots teach you to make what is called an isotonic rinse (about a 1/2 teaspoon of mineral salt to 10 oz of water).  This means there are equal amounts of salt in the saline solution as in the cell walls of the body, and it comes close to the body’s pH.  This rinse helps to stimulate the cilia and flush out excess mucous and particulate matter.

Most expert neti pot rinsers know that if it burns when they rinse, they haven’t used enough salt. Pure water or water with low amounts of salt can feel acidic and actually aggravate the sinus cavities.
To create a hypertonic rinse, you double the salt. This means there is more salt in the saline solution than in the cell walls of the body. Here’s the benefit. Doubling the amount of salt activates an exchange of fluids through a phenomenon called osmotic pressure. The body recognizes that there is more salt in the saline solution than in the cell walls of the body. It wants to equalize the pressure so it releases fluid from the inflamed tissues. It's quite remarkable!

Doesn’t it burn, you may ask? Doubling the salt creates a saline solution that is more alkaline than acidic. In other words, it shouldn’t burn. A hypertonic rinse will also help to liquefy mucous and decrease the pressure you feel associated with inflammation.  While relief can be apparent right after rinsing for some individuals, it may take a few rounds for others. You can use neti pots to rinse up to 3 times a day with a hypertonic solution if you are fighting a cold.

Bottom line: If you sound nasally when you speak, and you are fighting a cold or have allergies, you could probably use a hypertonic rinse!

If you want the exact science behind this, Wikipedia does a fine job of explaining it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmotic_pressure

Nasal Rinsing History with Neti Pots

Using 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 using neti pots 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!

Colds Can Increase Due to Dry Nose

Colds and Airline Flights

Ever wonder why you’re more susceptible to a cold after a long flight? It could be all those people crammed into a small space, but what pushes us over the edge is the low humidity.

Once in flight, the humidity drops into the teens and our moist nasal membranes start to dry up. Most people don’t notice this when they are flying less than 4 hours, but on international flights, it’s undeniable. Not only do our nose and lips go dry, but our hair flattens and we become unusually thirsty.

We can lose up to 8 oz of fluid from our body each hour we’re in flight. Some of the worst infections I've gotten as an adult have been after an international flight. Other places our nasal passages go dry are in arid regions like Denver or Tucson, or during the winter when our heaters kick on and the outside moisture levels drop.

If you find yourself in any of these situations, it’s important to stay hydrated, because moist nasal membranes help the cilia (tiny hair like structures) move things out such as bacteria or viruses that want to settle in. We often think too much mucous is the culprit for a cold but a dry nose is no better. If overly dry, people can find it painful to breathe and experience nose bleeds.  Think of a dry nose like dry skin which can feel irritated and crack. But unlike dry skin, the sinuses can become a breeding ground for infection. Using a neti pot to flush your sinuses can help cilia to move properly again and promote good sinus health.

Remedies for Dry Nose

What can you do to hydrate your sinuses? Keep the humidity in your home between 35-45%. With the correct humidity, the sinuses remain moist and easily rid themselves of infection and particulate matter such as pollen or dust. How do you know if your home is too dry? You can purchase a humidity meter. Or snap your bedroom sheets and see if they spark!

If that doesn't help or you are scheduled to take flight, the best trick I've found is to drink a lot of water, wash your hands often and avoid alcohol while in-flight.  Another suggestion, inspired by the Ayurvedic tradition, uses a combination of sesame seed oil and herbs/essential oils to soothe the nasal passages and get the cilia to move again.  In a sense, it’s lotion for the sinus cavities!  See our Dry Nose Oil for more information http://www.sinussupport.com/education/dry-nose  Use both dry nose oil and neti pots to promote good sinus health help you breathe easier when experiencing dry air conditions.

Why the Sinus Salt You Use Matters

The Bright White Stuff

Years ago a buyer from one of our stores called us and said “I love your neti pot, but why are you using the bright, white stuff?” – referring to the sinus salt I had packaged with our neti pot. I hadn’t a clue what he was talking about so he explained.

“If a salt is bright and white and easily tumbles out of a salt shaker it’s most likely been processed.”

My mind went blank for a moment, realizing the bright, white salt was all I knew. Evidently, I really didn’t know much about salt so I began to do some research. This was the beginning of our journey into organic sinus salts.

SALT FACTS

1. Salt in nature tends to have a pigment such as a pink Himalayan salt or a grey Celtic sea salt.

That pigment is a combination of trace minerals. When the trace minerals are taken out, you are indeed left with the bright, white stuff – sodium chloride. It’s unmistakable in our culture; it is the salt we all grew up with.

2. Most salt that makes it to our tables is the byproduct of industry. (See a book titled Salt – A World History by Mark Kurlansky for a fascinating read.)

3. If a salt crystal is perfectly round, it’s been processed because salt crystals in nature are as different and unique as snow flakes.

4. Unprocessed salt tends to absorb moisture when left out, so it clumps. If it doesn’t clump, it’s most likely had an anti-caking agent added to it. That can be anything from talcum powder to sodium silicoaluminate to bentonite or magnesium carbonate.

As neutral as I’m trying to be in my reporting of this, I can’t help myself – OMG!!! I had no idea they could do all that to salt!!
What is the point of nasal rinsing with neti pots if you are using a salt loaded with chemicals?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a processed salt up my nose. I recommend finding a true mineral sea salt from natural sources.

Try Baraka Neti Pots Mineral Sea Salt from the pristine waters off Brittany, France, an environmentally protected coast where salt has been sustainably hand harvested for thousands of years. Our salt is certified organic by the French Organic Farming Association. It matters what salt you use for nasal rinsing in your neti pot-choose organic.

How Often Can I Use a Neti Pot?

The most frequently asked question to us here at Baraka is: how often should I use my neti pot to do nasal rinsing? The answer, although simple, may not be easy for most people:

Listen to your body.

In a culture that trusts science over the wisdom of the body, we have not developed an ability to listen to our bodies.

Nasal rinsing may be a simple way to begin doing this.  Read our detailed instructions on nasal rinsing with  neti pots.

Listening to your body – my aunt’s story

I have an aunt who lives in Ohio.  She first began nasal rinsing every day in the humid summer months to help her allergies and had great success.

She continued this same routine into the winter.  Winters in Ohio can be very dry due to heaters and frigid temperatures, and she began to notice that her nose felt irritated.  Because salt is drying, she needed to reduce how often she rinsed.

Then on New Year’s she got sick.  She called me one day very sad because she felt she couldn’t rinse to clear her cold.  I told her now that she had excess mucous in her system, rinsing would not irritate her.  And it didn’t!

Your body is different from anyone else

The climate can affect how our bodies respond to nasal rinsing.  So can our bodies own unique constitution.

Some people are naturally moist.  They have oily skin and retain excess fluid.  If you’re one of them, you might benefit from daily rinsing.  Other people are dry – they have dry skin and hair and easily dehydrate.  If this is you, watch that you don’t dry out your nasal passages by nasal rinsing too often.

You might be a combination of the two – sometimes moist and sometimes dry.  Again, listen to what’s happening in your body and adjust your nasal rinsing schedule accordingly.

Your body will tell you exactly what it needs!

All you have to do is listen.

At first, you may be too impatient to do this.  We all have busy lives and just want to heal whatever ails us quickly.

However, it’s becoming clearer that our “one-size-fits-all” medical model is failing us.  Now, more than ever, we need to tune into our bodies.  We need to know what works and what doesn’t – for us.

Doing anything else can put us in harm’s way.  How many of us have learned this lesson the hard way? Learn all the reason why you would want to use neti pots to promote good sinus health.