# Tell me exactly why rinsing my sinuses with a solution of ethanol is a bad idea. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-exactly-why-rinsing-my-sinuses-with-a-solution-of-ethanol-is-a-bad-idea/576189 "2011-03-27T23:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-exactly-why-rinsing-my-sinuses-with-a-solution-of-ethanol-is-a-bad-idea/576189/21 "2011-03-28T14:14:23Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Is there anything soluble in alcohol that isn’t soluble in water? I’m not trying to be snotty (uh, no pun intended), I just really can’t think of anything. OTOH, some things which are water soluble will dissolve \*faster \*in alcohol. So maybe you just need to keep that isotonic saline via neti pot up in your schnozzle a little longer so it has more time to work? > > I can tell you that ethanol WILL be absorbed by mucus membranes, and very quickly and at levels higher then you’d expect. So you’ll get drunk really fast, and possibly dangerously so. Alcohol poisoning would be a bitch. One of the best things I got out of advanced HS chemistry was the maxim that organics dissolve organics, and inorganics dissolve inorganics. Water is generally considered a [universal solvent](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_solvent) but there are many things that water will not dissolve, such as any oil. Pure alcohol will dissolve oil, but most alcoholic drinks have only a very small amount of alcohol in them proportionally. I use this factoid quite a bit - if I have something that water doesn’t remove and is stubborn to soap and water, I use a little oil or vasoline to soften it up, then remove most of it with towels and use soap and water to remove the remaining oil. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-exactly-why-rinsing-my-sinuses-with-a-solution-of-ethanol-is-a-bad-idea/576189/22 "2011-03-28T14:20:36Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Pure alcohol will dissolve oil, but most alcoholic drinks have only a very small amount of alcohol in them proportionally. > > I use this factoid quite a bit - if I have something that water doesn’t remove and is stubborn to soap and water, I use a little oil or vasoline to soften it up, then remove most of it with towels and use soap and water to remove the remaining oil. Thanks! I knew that most things are either soluble in water \*or \*in oil, and use the same rule of thumb for cleaning as you. What I didn’t know was that alcohol will dissolve oil, so the answer is yes, there are some things that are soluble in alcohol but not water. Not sure it’s relevant to head snot, but still, you answered my question, so thank you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-exactly-why-rinsing-my-sinuses-with-a-solution-of-ethanol-is-a-bad-idea/576189/23 "2011-03-30T09:52:55Z")
I’ve added hydrogen peroxide to a neti pot when I was angry at my sinuses for allergies and a suspected infection. I don’t remember if it made a difference but the sound in my head was… interesting. I use it for gargling when I have a sore throat, which does seem to help. ---
**Author:** ![Kerry0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@Kerry0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kerry0)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-exactly-why-rinsing-my-sinuses-with-a-solution-of-ethanol-is-a-bad-idea/576189/24 "2016-01-11T04:42:13Z")
I’m coming in very late on this discussion and I hope you’ve had some success :). As a longtime sinus-problem endurer, I swear by sterile saline in an aerosol form, like Simply Saline, for normal use (for me since sinus surgery years ago, daily). But when you have an infection in there and you know where it is, a little isopropyl alcohol on a qtip can help. My sinuses are much more open since they did the surgery, and that helps; plus they’re very sensitive and prone to drying out very easily, so I haven’t put alcohol in a rinse or anything. If it’s not far in and I can reach the point of infection, I can help keep it from getting worse – and if you do this you need to make sure everything is sterile. There’s not much separating the sinuses from the brain so there’s huge potential to cause something much worse if you introduce anything foreign in there. Use a lot of caution and sterile applicator and solution anytime you apply a rinse or anything else to your sinuses. Good luck, cheers. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-exactly-why-rinsing-my-sinuses-with-a-solution-of-ethanol-is-a-bad-idea/576189/25 "2016-01-11T06:00:39Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Two words, my friend, Salt Water. > > It was recommended to me, by the surgeon who did my sinus surgery. And it’s the bomb, baby. Haven’t had to use anything stronger in about 5 yrs now. It completely cured my sinusitis, notoriously difficult to throw. Word. Some sort of magic is involved. The good kind. ---
**Author:** ![MANimalistic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@MANimalistic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MANimalistic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-exactly-why-rinsing-my-sinuses-with-a-solution-of-ethanol-is-a-bad-idea/576189/26 "2018-11-21T01:44:08Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > … Intuitively, I know that this would hurt like a son-of-a-bitch… but still… I keep thinking… “Maybe just a 5% solution, to clear it out… I’m a man, I’ve endured more painful things for less significant gains… no, that’s insane. You can’t put \*alcohol \*in your sinuses! But alcohol is its kryptonite… Sure, it’ll hurt, but!” > > Give me a more concrete reason than “That’s bound to be unpleasant!” …cuz if it _might_ make it possible to avoid missing work for the next two weeks, I think I may give in and give it a shot, bad idea or no. Tried it with one of the Neti Pot sinus douches (squeeze bottle, thing), and it doesn’t “hurt” bad, but it’s definitely something that’ll make my heart rate go up before I do it again. As soon as I shot… wait! Lemme explain these sinus douches for folks. You would normally have this thing filled with saline solution, stick the cap / nossel to your nostril, squeeze it until the liquid shoots up your nose, into the sinus cavities in your forehead, and then out the other nostril. OK. Ok. As soon as I shot this Cool Mint Listerine up my nose, I flinched back. It was INTENSE, but I didn’t get it to come out the other side. ie circulate through my sinuses. The SECOND TIME I did. Ok, forget what I said about it not hurting… It’s like time slowed when remembering it traveling up my nose, burning over what must have been sores, the HOLY HELL intensity of it filling my sinuse cavities… \*\*\* That was the “FREAK OUT, where’s my mommy moment, cause I just did something stupid, and I dunno what’s gonna happen! \*\*\* …then burning (like alcohol on a scrape) over some sores on the other side, and out the other nostril. After blowing it out, the pain quickly fled, along with the screaming inner child inside me. I will do it again one day. But it’s gonna be because of an infection or something serious. Oh, and if you try it, try to remember the changes in smells just afterwards. It was weird. ---
**Author:** ![MANimalistic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@MANimalistic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MANimalistic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-exactly-why-rinsing-my-sinuses-with-a-solution-of-ethanol-is-a-bad-idea/576189/27 "2018-11-21T02:03:11Z")
Oh, and Listerine only has around 20% ethanol. While a 40% is what’s lethal to bacteria. That’s why the commercials say 30 seconds. The reasoning is that, the germs will die if you keep swishing them around in a toxic environment. Still, it is an experience. — FYI get your Doctor to check for staph. 1/3 of folks are carriers. If you and your doctors been beefing it up and making it more resistant to antibiotics, then it could get dangerous. Very dangerous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-exactly-why-rinsing-my-sinuses-with-a-solution-of-ethanol-is-a-bad-idea/576189.md?page=1)