What is it supposed to be? Hypotonic? Hypertonic? I have done straight-up seawater and I can tell you this is not fun.
Originally posted by some guy who is apparently invisible:
I haven’t used this recipe, but my neti pot came with a gazillion packets of premixed ingredients. I’m supposed to heat up a certain amount of distilled water and add a packet to this water. Additional packets are available at the drugstore.
And I’m kind of surprised that Dr. Invisible doesn’t suggest adding some Tabasco to the rinse solution, for those who can’t see him.
Lynn, you are evil.
Why, thank you. I do have a reputation to keep up.
Thirded.
I prefer the squeeze bottle over the neti pot as you can control the um… velocity… of the water. Also the packets of mix make it nice and easy.
MeanJoe
Yes, I use the squeeze bottles of saline myself. In fact I prefer “4-Way” as it adds a touch of menthol and Eucalyptal.
Note that my MD suggested saline spray to me.
I don’t enjoy the sensation but I do feel better after wards. I just can’t psych myself up to do it as often as I should. I used the pre-mixed packets, it’s easier and there’s less worry about mixing it wrong.
I’m surprised Qadgop hasn’t posted here yet, he’s a big proponent of these things.
I followed the instructions exactly on a store-bought neti pot and it left me much worse off. I felt like water was trapped in some hidden chambers back there and it was sloshing around when I shook my head. I angled my nostrils at all conceivable angles and it never drained out. Took several days to get back to normal.
(nods) Yeah, if you have tricky sinus passages, it can be a bitch to get all the water out. I finally found the secret nostril position that works for me: Standing up, aim forehead for knees (similar to touching toes). Slowly rotate head on neck to aim first one ear, then the other, at knees. Verrrrry slowly, like over 60 seconds, uncurl spine to stand up straight again. Have kleenex handy for unexpected gushers.
You can get tricky sinus passages from genetics or from scar tissue; you can get the latter from years of sinus infections. I had roto-rooter surgery on mine eight years ago to improve things, but still need to do the above contortions after a saline rinse.
For me, they work miraculously well. This is my personal anecdote, but I’ll throw it out there.
I had a horrendous cold/flu at the end of January. I had tried a neti pot before while pregnant, and I didn’t like it. Morning sickness and neti pots sometimes don’t mix. However, I was desperate with this particular cold, and uninsured at the time, so I did a search of the boards and read a bunch of posts here that educated me (Thanks, Qadgop!). I tried the Sinucleanse pot again, and stuck with it this time. Relief was not immediate, but I did get better after a couple of days. Normally, such a cold would have resulted in a trip to the doc for a sinus infection. This is gross, but after a few days of use, I felt the water go into my upper sinuses with a whoosh, and then all kinds of nastiness came out at once.
I decided the neti pot wasn’t so bad, and began using it as part of my daily routine. I am asthmatic, and I noticed a slow decrease in my asthma attacks. I used to wake up nearly every night at about 3:00 AM to use an inhaler. Now I sleep though the night and my sinuses are * clear*!
This thing has literally changed my life. I still carry an inhaler with me everywhere, but I hardly ever need it. I think it has been three or four weeks since I last used it. I have started an exercise and weight loss program now that I’m not totally exhausted from fighting to breathe.
I have had a couple of colds since (and have one now), but the neti really helps me throw them off. I use it twice a day, morning and night, and up to four times a day when ill, or if I’ve been working in the yard when there’s a lot of pollen or other known irritants around.
My eight year old son has a lot of allergy issues and was curious about the neti, but a bit scared of it, so instead of buying him a pot of his own, we got him the Neilmed sinus rinse kit. He calls it his snot launcher. Ewwww. But it works extremely well for him. He has not needed his albuterol inhaler in months, and no trips to the doctor for sinus/ear issues all winter.
My kiddo and I both use the hypertonic (saltier) solution. I was using isotonic while pregnant, and I think that made matters worse. If I had not read Qadgop’s suggestions in those posts, I’d probably still be wheezing now. So thanks again, from a lurker. When ** Qadgop** shows up, that is… 
When I rinse my sinuses, I find it best to use water that feels warm, but not hot, on my inner wrist. If it feels cool on my wrist, it’s too cold to use without stinging and burning my sinuses. Slightly warmer than body temperature is pretty comfortable, once you get used to the feeling.
I sometimes get water trapped in my sinuses, and for me, toe-touches help it to drain. My son does something he calls “elephant”. He hangs his head and arms forward and then down, then swings them slowly from side to side until he feels the solution moving out. Then he can blow his nose and get the rest of it.
My anecdote: This time of year I am usually miserable. I sneeze all morning and am conjested all night.
I started using a neti pot and instead of sneezing for about 3 hours every morning, I don’t sneeze at all. NOT AT ALL! I thought allergy season was just mild this year, so I tested and didn’t use the neti for one day. I was miserable and sneezed and sniffed all morning.
It’s a miracle!
Thanks QTM, it’s made my life quite a bit better.
Yesssss!!! (Pumps fist furiously)
I LOVE hearing that folks are having fewer asthma attacks.
Glad you’re doing so well, Tabs, & you too, autz.
Hmm, how dow you pump your fist with those claws capable of digging through meters-thick armour of pure neutronium? Are you sure you’re really QtM?
Open your xmex-like snout and stick out your zymolosely polydactile tongue, it’s the only way we have of being sure. 
I’ll toss this 4:1 ratio into the blender and grind it until it’s a fine powder. I store it in a tupperware container with a couple of silica gel packs from some old medicine bottles to absorb any spare moisture.
I’ll use my neti pot once or twice a day during allergy and cold seasons. It helps, especially after mowing the lawn.
Carefully!
After forty some years of never having any sinus problems at all, a couple of years ago I all of a sudden started having all kinds of problems with sinus infections. After a long bout of antibiotics (which in the end didn’t accomplish much) I started looking into neti pots. I ended up getting a Neilmed sinus rinse kit which is basically the same idea, and it has done more for getting rid of my sinus problems than anything my doctor ever prescribed.
Sometimes people post things and don’t get feedback to know what effect they’ve had, but what finally convinced me to try the sinus rinse kit was a post of yours about how neti pots and sinus rinse things in general were effective. I guess I’m guilty of not giving you any feedback before now, but your advice was very much appreciated, and it helped me out quite a bit. So, thanks.
I am certainly convinced; thanks, Qadgop. See? You’re not invisible! Now to find some place stocking it in UK.
I use the neilmed. When I have an infection I’ll add a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide to the wash. It’s drop-you-to-your-knees painful, but it does the trick in two days (twice per day).
If you ask after “neti pots” and people just look at you funny, try asking for sinus irrigation or nasal saline rinse items.
Good luck!
My ENT told me not to use any type of nasal antibiotic, as it could result in yeast infection (in the sinuses!).
While my neti pot helped me a certain amount, the cause of my chronic sinusitis turned out to require surgery to remove the polyp which would grow, then loose infection, then grow again, as well as to correct my deviated septum. So it’s not really a cure.
The neti pot is particularly good for allergy sufferers who exercise in the mornings outside. Lots of early morning pollen inhaled can be washed away before it triggers an allergy attack.
I’ve noticed recently that doctors are moving toward recommending nasal irrigation as treatment and prevention, in the form of aerosol-like saline cans. This, in reaction to some evidence that Sudafed, etc. aren’t that effective.