(raises hand again) But I read that this is bad-bad-bad because the fluid going up your eustachian tubes is nasty, snot-a-riffic sewage, and it’ll give you an ear infection. My own experience corroborates this… I only get ear infections when I’ve used the neti pot during a head cold. It’s not a huge sample size, but I’d always thought that was perfectly plausible.
Am I wrong? It’s really good for your eustachian tubes? If so, I’ll blow away, in the future.
I’d been thinking about getting a neti pot for a while, and decided to go buy one after reading this thread. I’ve had a cold lately, plus this nasty post-nasal drip for a few months.
It felt really weird the first few seconds in each nostril, but it was so nice to breathe again afterwards! Naturally I’m clogging up again (within minutes of using it), but hey… I do have a cold, afterall. It’s still considerably better than I felt before. Ever since I started the job I’m at (small room with 13 printers running constantly, little/no real ventilation) I’ve had clogged sinuses and headaches. Maybe with regular use I won’t be so miserable at work!
Edited to add: Interestingly, the excess solution still working it’s way out seems to be affecting my sense of taste. The extra salty something is making my mac n cheese taste weirdly fishy. Like a plate of orange sardines.
I have chronic sinus problems that are greatly helped by guaifenesin, but I would really like to see if a neti pot would provide additional help. So I tried it last winter.
The first time I used it, I wasn’t feeling much congestion until I used it. Right after using it, I felt horribly congested for a couple of hours. Then my sinuses seemed clearer. My ear was “crackly” for a couple of days, though, from water getting in there.
The second time I used it, I felt substantially worse and almost got a sinus infection. I ended up with a headache and my teeth started hurting, and I felt sick for a few days. Came close to a full blown infection and needing antibiotics, so I didn’t use the neti again. Antibiotics do a number on me, and a sinus infection means missing three days of work.
Did I do something wrong? Is rebound congestion common and something that goes away with further use? How do I avoid the whole headache/teeth hurting thing? I’m tempted to try again sometime, but am really worried about getting sick. If I do try again, I’m thinking of trying with the squeeze bottle instead of the pot.
I found a sip of Cabernet covers up the taste. 
I have year-round allergies to a variety of things, and have been using a neti pot daily for the last six or seven years. I use regular non-iodized salt, no bicarb, and mix it in filtered water (from my Brita pitcher). I warm the water in a glass measuring cup in the microwave, and it works really well for me.
When I first started, my sinuses were so clogged that it took forever to work the water through them. I didn’t see improvement for a couple of weeks or more. After a while, though, the water started flowing through nicely, and taking all sorts of nasty dusty-looking stuff and snot out with it (I do this over the sink). I use my neti pot daily even when I have a cold, and it seems to really help get the congestion out. I really notice the difference on the rare days when I don’t use it. It seems to ease my cold and allergy symptoms a lot. I love it.
I usually just exhale forcefully into a tissue when I am done, and don’t have problems with residual water. I did, however, have some problems with this back when I first started using the neti pot. I think you really need to stick with it for a while to see the best results.
Well, I got a squeeze bottle today and just tried it with filtered water–thanks! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it helps and doesn’t hurt. My water has a lot of sediment in it, so maybe that was part of the problem the last time.
I definitely like the squeeze bottle better than the pot. I had a hard time getting into the right position with the pot. Also, I decided to use it in the shower. That way, my sinuses were already warmed up a bit. Plus, I was worried about making a mess before, because my bathroom sink is small. It was nice not to worry about that.
Lavender Falcon, I suspect you might have needed a higher concentration of salt in your solution. Low salt concentration can end up increasing congestion (fine for dry nasal passageways, not so hot for others).
Otherwise, emulating D. Fenestrator’s experience might help you out. As I averred earlier, chronic problems won’t clear up with just one or two uses.
Oh! Bingo. The neti pot I had problems with said to start with half a packet and work your way to a full packet. I used half a packet, and I bet that was a hypotonic solution. Those instructions didn’t give any info about what ratio would be isotonic. The squeeze bottle I just got, however, said an isotonic solution is one of their packets in 6 oz of water, and I figured isotonic was the way to go, so that’s what I used.
Yeah, anything that has ever helped me took time to help. I’m prepared to be persistent, as long as it doesn’t give me a full blown infection. Three weeks ago, I got my sinuses clear enough that for a couple of days I had a sense of smell again. It was wonderful, and I want that all the time!
Thanks for helping me understand what went wrong before. Now I’m not so worried about it. 
How about someone with extremely dry sinuses and mucus. I am sofar a not me for the netti pot, I could possibly use a squeeze bottle. I have very very vivid memories of the sinus pain and infections I had after swimming as a child. I take clariton d, have a humidifier in my room, and a bottle of prescription nose spray to deal with the crap in my sinuses. They help, but I still get globs in the back of my nose above my throat setting off a gag reflex. Facial pain due to pressure. The Broken Jaw Pain* ended when I had a tooth, root was more than halfway into the sinus cavity, pulled.
*It sure felt like that. The pain of removal was overwhelmed by the relief.
quakked, it really sounds like a Neti pot with a lower sodium load could benefit someone with your symptoms.
Recent studies have indicated that the neti pot works better than saline sprays and squeeze bottles. It’s the high continuous volume and long contact time that seems to be of benefit.
I’ve been dealing with a head cold recently, and finally got around to buying a neti pot. I’ve battled snifflies forever and thought this could help. I’ve used it a few times, and it’s worked well. However, last time I used it, my nose ran mucus for seven hours straight. Nothing would abate it. I actually started to feel dehydrated from all the runoff I got. Man my nose got pissed off at me for running water through it. I plan revenge on my sinuses tomorrow.
The definitive neti pot instructional video on Youtube.
I had to turn it off before he poured the third liquid through!
::cringe::
Could it have been trapped water coming out? That’s happened to me twice since I used mine yesterday. First time when I lay back on the couch to watch a movie, second time early this morning when I rolled onto my stomach in bed.
I’m guessing what happened (in my case, at least), is that my sinuses are so glued shut with gunk that some water got trapped in there. Then, the water finally softened up the gunk and found a pathway out. I gotta say that both times water has suddenly come out, I’ve felt a huge relief, and I feel air flow where there hasn’t been any in a long time. I didn’t realize I was this badly congested, but I’m not surprised. I saw a CT scan I had a few years ago when a doc finally figured out I might have sinus problems, and it was a mess.
Now I’m getting congested again, and I’m already looking forward to getting it the heck outta there.
Anyway, I’m am extremelly thankful for this thread, because I’ve really wanted to try this again, and now I am hopeful. The doc who dxed me threw tons of antibiotics and sprays at me, and all that did was make me sick. Now that I’m using the right salt concentration, I just made a step toward better. Wooohooo!
Having been an allergies sufferer for most of my life, and especially lately having major runny nose problems, this thread convinced me to give a neti pot a try.
Bought a kit that includes premixed packets of salt & bicarbonate to pour into the water earlier today, watched the instruction video that was linked to earlier, and gave it my first try a few minutes ago.
I am definitely feeling a difference! Especially after the initial application, the amount of mucous that flowed out was very impressive.
So, chalk up one more convert. 
So… would you suggest I put my well water through a Britta filter first? I’m definitely thinking of getting one of these. My well water is tested at least once a year, I’m told it’s quite healthy, but rather hard. I mean, it tends to >clunk< instead of flow into the sink and a magnet can divert the stream coming out of the faucet.
Or in my case would distilled be a good thing?
Ya, nasal discharge + beard = gross.
I knew he wasn’t going to be able to handle the whiskey.
As long as your salt and bicarb dissolve in the water, it should be okay. Unsoftened water is unlikely to coat your nasal passages the way it coats your pipes.
Oh, my dear God. You’re the other one. Ever since I moved down here, it seemed that everyone has some kind of problem with their sinuses. I felt like a total weirdo cause I didn’t. Thank you for sharing that: I feel so much better.
::mutters:: I never had issues until I moved to Boston!
I used my pot a second time yesterday and made sure the water was a little hotter. It had cooled too quickly the first time since it took me forever to get any water to trickle in. Things went better this time but I still cannot get even half a pot through one side. Practice makes perfect I guess.