I understand the QtM puts vegemite in his neti pot. And sometimes aged cheddar.
StG
Besides having to mix it yourself, how does this differ from a $2 bottle of Saline nasal spray? I have the latter, and it doesn’t do much for me.
When you mix it yourself, you can fiddle with strength and temperature, two factors that make all the difference to some users.
Speaking of feeling ignored 
does anyone know the answer to this question from earlier in the thread:
I hope someone who knows more will be able to tell you, but I have a very, very tangentially related experience to share. We used to have a cat who almost died from a skin infection that started with chin acne. On the vet’s advice, even after the cat got better, we switched from using plastic cat food bowls to steel ones. The cat never had acne again and lived several more years, dying of old age. No one has been able to explain to me, on a scientific basis, why this should be so, but it was so, and if you google “cat acne” you will come across hundreds of similar stories.
Plastic food containers retain odors and stains, so it’s not unthinkable that they might also retain… unhygienic particles. I don’t really know.
Glass, however, in the bathroom, what with nice slippery watered-down snot dribbling out of your nose, seems potentially hazardous.
Any way to do a homemade version of the neti pot? I’m currently at home with a bad sinus cold + laryngitis. Also, I live in Nunavut and I doubt I could get a neti pot here. How about a 20cc syringe? Can i just shove that mother up my nose and let loose with saline? Advice? Bueller? Man, I wish Qtm would show up and let me know if Neti pots are for me or not.
It’s like the difference between misting your garden with a spray bottle and turning a hose on it. Saline spray just spritzes a bit, while the nasal rinse flushes up into your sinus cavities.
The NeilMed nasal rinse bottle is a very squeezable plastic bottle with a nozzle on the end that lets out a big jet of water at once. I’m sure you could find something acceptable, maybe one of those empty plastic “travel” shampoo bottles with the push-closed nozzle top.
Teapots can be used too, if the spout is the right size to fit in one’s nostril.
I see no reason to not use plastic devices, and cleaning them with ordinary soap and hot water should be sufficient.
And as Ferret Herder has stated, the advantage of the neti pot (or similar large volume delivery device) over the saline nasal spray is sheer volume, and prolonged contact time of the saline with the nasal mucosa. Along with a better ability to regulate the temperature and saline concentrations to suit one’s particular needs.
Remember: Horribly dried out nasal mucosa should have lower salt concentrations in the irrigation fluid, to help replenish the fluids into the tissue, while flushing out the glop. Horribly swollen, boggy nasal tissue should have higher salt concentrations, to draw the fluids out of the nasal tissue, along with all the other glop in there.
One will need to experiment a bit to determine which salt concentrations are right for the individual [del]nose hoser[/del] person.
I used distilled water for a bit but I don’t any more. I just use warm tap water plus the premixed packets from Walgreens. However, San Francisco’s water is pretty clean compared to most other places I’ve been, so I don’t know if that’s a good idea elsewhere.
Ok I guess I’m weird because squirting or breathing in water up my nose is one way I get a headache when I take a shower.
You’re normal. If you use plain water with a neti pot it hurts a lot, using a saline solution makes it much more tolerable.
I just use regular water from the tap in mine. Our water here is chlorinated, but I think the baking soda in the sinus rinse packets must have a buffering effect on the tap water, because it works fine. The correct temperature is important, though.
I have a plastic Sinucleanse neti pot and I wash it really well by hand and then put it in the dishwasher (top rack) to get it super clean. I like to get it thoroughly sanitized once a day if possible.
If anyone is concerned about water running down the back of your throat, make sure to keep your mouth open the whole time. You can even talk during the process; I’m a mom of three and my toddler sometimes follows me around and talks to me while I’m neti-potting, so I try to answer him when I can. He thinks that mom using the neti pot is hilarious to watch.
My eight year old keeps water out of his throat by keeping his mouth open and making the “k”, “kuh, kuh, kuh” sound over and over again as he uses his Neilmed rinse. That sound closes your throat and keeps the water out. I find I don’t need to do that, but it may help you. 
Plain water up the nose hurts like hell; the saline/baking soda mix is much more comfortable.
For what it’s worth, homebrewers (like myself) know that eventually, plastic items used in homebrewing should be replaced - either with new plastic which will also get swapped out with time, or with something like glass or metal. Plastic brewing items like fermenter buckets, siphon tubing, etc. get microscratches over time, which harbor bacteria and eventually will not get clean enough no matter how well they’re cleansed and sanitized.
I wouldn’t be surprised if pointy kitty teeth and claws leave scratches (even minute ones) in plastic food bowls, which may harbor bacteria or nasty skin oils or whatever. Just a theory but it seems to make sense.
Hey! Tada! The NYT says neti pots probably work.
I made the leap and started using one almost 2 weeks ago. It’s disgusting to use and I can’t seem to use it without sputtering and horking up water dripping down the back of my throat, but I feel good. I usually wake up in the morning with a stuffy nose, but since I started flushing out my sinuses I haven’t been blocked up in the morning.
Thumbs up from me.
I’ve never heard of these things before… but as an asthmatic and longtime allergy sufferer, by god I’m going to.
I had those problems at first, and I kept leaning a little further forward till the water no longer went down the back of my throat. Glad you’re feeling better.
Everything’s blooming here, and I haven’t needed my inhaler, which amazes me. Sometimes I get lazy about using the pot as often as I need to, and I feel a tickle in the back of my throat, but then once I use the neti pot again it resolves quickly.
Me too - two weeks ago! Lean forward more.
I do think it’s been helping a little, but my allergies are absolutely horrible this year. I’ve developed an awful cough that keeps me up all night - the neti pot doesn’t touch that.
I started a few days ago and there’s already an obvious improvement. I’m a convert.