# Mr. brown caves and uses neti pot - and he loves it **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 5, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878 "2008-12-05T17:04:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![DogMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@DogMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogMom)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/141 "2008-12-24T12:41:38Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Neti pots make great stocking stuffers, too! > > They don’t taste as good as neutronium, though. ☹ I am currently trying to convince DogDad, he of the Winter Nosebleeds, that he needs to try it and he will _like it_. No dice SO FAR. Although, hrm, maybe if I told him that an Extraterrestrial Prison Doctor who snacks on Neutronium recommended it… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/142 "2008-12-24T18:08:07Z")
> [@Contrary](#): > > **Phouka** , I really truly do lean forward, I have my head tilted properly (according to the helpful picture in the directions AND I keep my mouth open. When I pour into the left nostril, no water goes down my throat. The right side is an entirely different situation, and I suspect I’m well and truly packed on that side. Oh, you poor thing! I abase myself. I thought it was a simple tactical problem. Have you considered getting a positive pressure system? It’s basically a squeeze bottle that lets you put the solution under pressure. It’s supposed to be able to take out those blockages. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/143 "2008-12-24T18:09:50Z")
> [@Contrary](#): > > **Phouka** , I really truly do lean forward, I have my head tilted properly (according to the helpful picture in the directions AND I keep my mouth open. When I pour into the left nostril, no water goes down my throat. The right side is an entirely different situation, and I suspect I’m well and truly packed on that side. I wonder if something like a deviated septum would cause water to flow all wonky like that? ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/144 "2008-12-24T18:12:01Z")
I’ve been wondering about that. I have a deviated septum, and I just bought a neti pot the other day. I haven’t tried it yet, but probably will later today. I guess I’ll let everyone know how that goes. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/145 "2008-12-24T18:25:59Z")
> [@Contrary](#): > > **Phouka** , I really truly do lean forward, I have my head tilted properly (according to the helpful picture in the directions AND I keep my mouth open. When I pour into the left nostril, no water goes down my throat. The right side is an entirely different situation, and I suspect I’m well and truly packed on that side. If what you pour into your left nostril goes out your right nostril, then you can’t be well and truly obstructed on the right side. Unless one of your “boogers” (damn, I need to remember the medical term for booger) acts as a one-way valve… ---
**Author:** ![Contrary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/db5fbb/32.png) [@Contrary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrary)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/146 "2008-12-24T18:38:40Z")
Well I am unaware of any deviated septum in my head, but who knows? On the plus side, things are s-l-o-w-l-y improving. Today, while water still did go down the back of my throat on the right side, I also for the first time had a small trickle coming out the other nostril. This, my friends, is real progress. But I am still blowing out clotty lumps of snot from the right side (sorry to be so descriptive about the grossness that inhabits my head) so I think this may be a process over time. Yeah, QM, I think that’s probably what’s going on. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/147 "2008-12-24T18:56:57Z")
I’m still offering mixed reviews. The pressure in my sinuses has improved, as has my ability to breathe. But now my ears are really, really blocked. That might have happened anyhow with this cold, but who knows. All I know is that I can’t hear a thing and find myself talking REALLY loudly. Also, disequilibrium is making me seasick. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/148 "2008-12-24T19:11:12Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > I’m still offering mixed reviews. The pressure in my sinuses has improved, as has my ability to breathe. > > But now my ears are really, really blocked. That might have happened anyhow with this cold, but who knows. All I know is that I can’t hear a thing and find myself talking REALLY loudly. Also, disequilibrium is making me seasick. Have you tried increasing the salt concentration? ---
**Author:** ![Contrary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/db5fbb/32.png) [@Contrary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrary)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/149 "2008-12-24T19:21:22Z")
I know you were asking **lorene** , but I do think that helped me. I use half a pot of water to one packet of stuff. I can definitely feel it but it’s not bad. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/150 "2008-12-24T19:21:47Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Unless one of your “boogers” (damn, I need to remember the medical term for booger) acts as a one-way valve… [/QUOTE] I’ve been having that situation as well. I know they’re one-way with air as I can exhale but not inhale. ---
**Author:** ![Daffyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daffyd/32/8923_2.png) [@Daffyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daffyd)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/151 "2008-12-24T19:31:11Z")
There I was, minding my own business at the mall on Christmas Eve, when I suddenly found myself in the drugstore buying a Neti Pot… I watched a few videos online on how to use it, and just tried it for the first time… I’ve always had bad allergies, sinus headaches and a stuffy nose… and I still do, but I managed to get water through each nostril and not drown myself… and I’m almost looking forward to doing it again! I blame all of you! Thanks… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/152 "2008-12-24T19:33:22Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > If what you pour into your left nostril goes out your right nostril, then you can’t be well and truly obstructed on the right side. Unless one of your “boogers” (damn, I need to remember the medical term for booger) acts as a one-way valve… Y’know, I tried one of those cans of nasal saline rinse a while back. The water always dribbled out of the same nostril, so I thought I was doing it wrong. Now I wonder if the fact that I have no upper sinuses is the problem. Do these things work as well for you if the rinse comes out the same nostril it went in? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/153 "2008-12-24T19:36:29Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Y’know, I tried one of those cans of nasal saline rinse a while back. The water always dribbled out of the same nostril, so I thought I was doing it wrong. Now I wonder if the fact that I have no upper sinuses is the problem. Do these things work as well for you if the rinse comes out the same nostril it went in? Absence of sinus shouldn’t prevent flow in one nostril and out the other. The things that would do that would be a plugged nostril, either by mucus, anatomic abnormality, foreign body (I’ve seen bullets obstruct more than one nostril before) or swelling of the nasal tissues. And yes, it won’t be nearly as effective going in and out of the same nostril at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/154 "2008-12-24T19:37:33Z")
BTW, please noone try to tell me that **Rhinolith** is the medical term for boogers. That term only applies to the very dry, very hard specimens. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/155 "2008-12-24T19:54:18Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > BTW, please noone try to tell me that **Rhinolith** is the medical term for boogers. That term only applies to the very dry, very hard specimens. Ah, yes, and we were all rushing here to tell you…😛 By the way, I meant to mention that I somehow find the image of felons in a prison using neti pots strangely amusing. I think it’s just the contrast with some of your other stories. I’ll try upping the salt concentration. ---
**Author:** ![Lavender\_Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b782af/32.png) [@Lavender\_Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lavender_Falcon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/156 "2008-12-24T20:25:55Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > BTW, please noone try to tell me that **Rhinolith** is the medical term for boogers. That term only applies to the very dry, very hard specimens. Speaking of rocks, could the crap draining back from the sinuses cause tonsil rocks in someone with chronic sinus problems? Have you ever had a patient who started getting (or had) tonsil rocks when they started using a Neti pot, and if so, did those eventually go away? Can it take months for some people with chronic sinus problems to see all the improvement they’re going to see from a neti? Thanks for any experience you can share. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/157 "2008-12-24T20:37:04Z")
> [@Lavender\_Falcon](#): > > Speaking of rocks, could the crap draining back from the sinuses cause tonsil rocks in someone with chronic sinus problems? Have you ever had a patient who started getting (or had) tonsil rocks when they started using a Neti pot, and if so, did those eventually go away? > > Can it take months for some people with chronic sinus problems to see all the improvement they’re going to see from a neti? > > Thanks for any experience you can share. I wouldn’t expect tonsil stones at all in sinus situations. And neti pots would be inclined to reduce the risk, rather than increase it, if it had any effect at all. It may take months for sinuses which are really plugged to see benefit. Remember, sinuses are (relatively) huge chambers in the head, with itsy-bitsy windows into them. The saline solution must trickle in via the tiny windows, decongest the swollen tissue by the windows, soften things up in there, then trickle out again. Some folks with badly opacified sinuses may never see resolution, even after months or years of neti pot use. But overall they still benefit from the decongestant effects on the nasal passages. And studies do indicate that even in the worst cases, people are less uncomfortable than they would be without neti pot use. Patients with cystic fibrosis are now being treated with hypertonic saline mists into the lungs to help clear them out and improve function. It’s sort of a neti pot for the pulmonary tree. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/158 "2008-12-24T21:52:15Z")
Now, Qadgop, there is something you _did not tell me_ about using the neti pot. About what it would do to me. And I must take you to task for it… … just before my period I usually get a couple days of congestion and nasty sinus headache to go with it. But not this time. Sure, congestion, but _no headache_. Got anything for my other PMS symptoms? Since you’re male I’ll give you a pass on this one, but don’t let it happen again, m’kay? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lavender\_Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b782af/32.png) [@Lavender\_Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lavender_Falcon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/159 "2008-12-24T22:09:58Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It may take months for sinuses which are really plugged to see benefit. Remember, sinuses are (relatively) huge chambers in the head, with itsy-bitsy windows into them. The saline solution must trickle in via the tiny windows, decongest the swollen tissue by the windows, soften things up in there, then trickle out again. OK, that’s good to know–thanks! I’m definitely seeing improvement, but I’m hoping there’s more ahead. Sounds like that’s a reasonable hope in my case. In addition to normal runny mucus, I have lots of gunk that is the color and consistency of paste. I get a teeny, tiny bit of that out each time I rinse, but I wasn’t sure if it was old stuff coming out slowly, or new stuff. I’m now thinking old stuff. I’m definitely not getting tons of stuff out the way some folks are reporting here, yet I’m breathing much better. > [@](#): > > Some folks with badly opacified sinuses may never see resolution, even after months or years of neti pot use. But overall they still benefit from the decongestant effects on the nasal passages. And studies do indicate that even in the worst cases, people are less uncomfortable than they would be without neti pot use. Yeah, and that could be the case for me. I didn’t realize I had sinus problems until an allergy & asthma specialist ordered a CT scan. I’ve had problems for so long I guess it just felt normal, and it’s not like docs before him hadn’t pushed on my face when I had bronchitis, but it never hurt when they did that. Anyway, the scan had white everywhere, and it was done at a time when I didn’t have bronchitis and wouldn’t have thought I was even congested. I’d gone to that doc because I wondered if I had asthma and that’s why I kept getting bronchitis every winter. Nope, no asthma. The bronchitis was the result of sinus infections. Worse infections than my baseline problems, that is. Anyway, if I see even a 5% improvement in my overall health from this, that would have a huge impact for me. I’ve already seen enough benefit that I’ll keep doing this, even though I don’t like actually doing it. It beats anything an ENT might do to me. 🙂 > [@](#): > > Patients with cystic fibrosis are now being treated with hypertonic saline mists into the lungs to help clear them out and improve function. It’s sort of a neti pot for the pulmonary tree. Huh, that’s really interesting. Thanks again for answering my questions! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878/160 "2008-12-24T22:23:54Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Got anything for my other PMS symptoms? Orgasms seem to reduce many PMS symptoms. Seriously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-brown-caves-and-uses-neti-pot-and-he-loves-it/475878.md?page=9)