I went to the allergy & asthma specialist the other day, and they gave me the western medical equivalent of a neti pot. Although I read the instructios properly and have been following them to the best of my ability, I sometimes still end up getting the salt water solution in the upper back portion fo my mouth, only to find out when I lay down to sleep hours later. Any ideas on how to drain this before I get a mouthful of used salt water when trying to fall asleep? :smack:
Most likely you are filling the sinuses. Try filling the nasal cavity. Pinch nostrils gently and tip head forward while breathing through mouth. Drain. Repeat once of twice if needed. You may need to lay down and tip head back to completly drain the sinuses if they are filled with the salt sollution.
First time I ever heard of a neti pot. I have a glass “Birmingham Nasal Douche” made in Japan for the Woltra Co. Inc. NYCity. The price inked on box ‘29’. New in original box. Current collector’s items selling for $10.
Directions essentially say to use warm liquid, insert nasal tip into nostril, tilt head back, let liquid run into nasal cavity, hold nostrils for two minutes with head tilted forward, breathe through mouth, then allow to drain. Used with warm salt water. Currently I use “Ocean Spray” or similar saline nasal spray in a plastic dispenser bottle.
Thanks for the clarification. Cranberry juice would probably sting like the dickens.
:dubious:
I can’t figure out how that thing works–are you forcing solution up there? You might want to go old-school and try an actual neti pot.
The other thing would be to lie down on the couch for a minute to let it drain after using it. Then you can get your mouthful of salt water well before bedtime. Won’t solve the problem, but will mean you don’t have to get out of bed to deal with it.
Hey, Mirrored Indigo Shadows. I use that exact product and it certainly does help me with my sinus problems. When I was at my worst, I would do it once in the AM and then again after dinner.
When I use it, I do the following:
I squirt twice into each nostril, per the directions on the kit, and blow it out (Gently, of course)… After blowing out the solution, I tilt my head to the left and let it drain out for about 30 seconds, then I tilt my head to the right and do the same thing. Then I tilt my head so that it is face down toward the sink and let it drain again. I do this a couple of times, tilting left, then right, then down. Basically it’s that head movement that gets things moving. I’ve found that for me this works great at getting out all the extra saline that you’ve just squirt in there. YMMV of course, but I think in your case it is definately worth a try.
No pun intended, but let me know how things come out! 
(OK, pun was intended, but seriously let me know how this works out.)
This is a specialized squeeze bottle. You gently squeeze the saline solution up into your nasal cavity and sinuses. It’s not as bad as you would think and it is the same basic idea as the Neti pot, the difference is that the Neti Pot is using gravity to force the liquid into your sinuses while the squeeze bottle relies on your hand to compress the liquid up. Same net effect though.
I have nothing to add except to mention that around here, a “netty” is what we call an outside toilet. Having never heard of neti pots, you can imagine how intriguing I found the title of this thread.
For those of you dying to know what a neti/nori looks like in operation, here you go.
I think the problem may have been that when using this via my right nostril, I may have not had my head tilted far enough to the left and some of the water went in the wrong direction. I’m going to try that and a couple of the yoga positions the paper that came with it recommended to finish draining.
Ethilrist, the fact that those people are smiling while they’re doing this procedure horrifies me to a small extent. Given that I was instructed to use this because of both a general sinus condition (vasomotor rhinitis) and to clear out my current virus-related congestion, I’d say the treatment isn’t apt to make me smile, if only because it’s easier to breathe when my mouth is more open.
Also, for those who are curious, it’s not painful or anything, but it is a rather strange but pleasant sensation. It’s also amazing how clear my breathing passages feel after I use it.