Sunshine, you said you did neti?

I started out with a small ceramic pot and was doing pretty well. I then got a large stainless steel pot which I like a lot better because it is more comfortable, gives a better flow, and holds plenty of water (half a liter).

However, I am finding that I can't seem to have a single session where I don't get some water down my throat. I can see that you ought to be able to avoid this by bending forward 90 degrees, then turning the top of your body 90 degrees or so to the right or left. This just doesn't work very well for me and I find I'm continually trying to adjust my position to find one that does work. Usually I can, but not before getting water down my throat.

I know it would be best to have someone show me but I have no idea where to find anyone around here.

I also seem to find that my right nostril feels a bit stuffed up afterwards, not sure why. I try to dry as best as I can, especially since I have a sinus infection and I don't want water sitting there getting where it's not supposed to.

Do you have any tips, or helpful links on this?

Thanks,
Linda.

Hahahahaha….excellent, now u know why I said there is a certain knack to using the Neti pot. Took me a while to get the hang of it too…….LOL
Yes, first 3-4 weeks it made me gag because the water keeps going down me throat.
It is not an instant cure for sinus problems, but I made it a morning habit, prior to showering in the morning and sinus’s where back to normal after 2-3 months.

If u get on to “google video” and google “neti pot” you will get hundreds of video clips that will show how:

Here is a strange man doing it with an old kettle!

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay...0&type=search&plindex=33


Gagging and “down your throat” means u are doing it wrong, that should not happen! You need to put your head on the side and bend forward at the same time, just watch some of the google video’s and you’ll see what I mean.

(I’m not gonna try and type and explanation…..too tricky)

Drying: is very important. If u don’t dry out correctly then boggies are still up there and that’s not what u want. You need to do lots of snorting, hard snorting, but not TOO hard snorting.

Temperature: not too hot, not too cold

Time : I found not just prior to bed, because if not correctly dried u wake up blocked up. At least 30 mins prior to bed. When I started I was doing them 4 times a day.

Yes,,,,,I started with the nice ceramic pot…..too small! Then I went for the large copper pots…….i remember the hole was not big enough, so the water did not come out quick enough, so not enough water pressure to dislodge the blockages.
When I got the rhino horn shaped neti pot, I immediately found using it 100 times easier. Its very well designed, the angle of the dangle is perfect, the hole lets out lots of water and makes using it quicker and easier.

Below is from here: http://www.jalanetipot.com/how.html

Jala Neti Stage 1
1. Nasal cleansing can be performed over a sink, a bowl on a table, in the shower or outside. First fill the Neti Pot with warm water of a temperature suitable for pouring in the nose - neither too hot nor cold. Just like testing a baby’s bottle, pour a bit on your arm or taste and spit to check the temperature. Pure water is best if available but this is not obligatory.
2. Mix in salt to the proportion of one - level teaspoon for half a liter of water. This equates to 0.9% – the same as human blood – and is called an isotonic solution. Mix the salt thoroughly. Taste the water and spit - adjust if not correct. After several attempts you will be able to recognize the correct mixture by taste. Be sure to fully mix and dissolve the salt.
3. Place the nose cone of the neti pot into the right nostril, sealing it to the nostril with a few twists and slight pressure. Try to point the spout straight up in line with the nasal passage so as not to block the tip of the nozzle by the inside of the nose. Open your mouth and breathe gently through the mouth. Do not sniff, swallow, laugh, talk or have any movement of air through the nose while the water is flowing through.
4. Now slowly bend forward from the waist so that the tip of the nose is the lowest point of the head; and then tilt/roll the head, so that the left nostril is now the lowest point of the nose. Tilt slowly so that water doesn’t run out the top of the pot onto your face! Keep the nose cone fully sealed into the right nostril so that water doesn’t leak out. Continue breathing through the mouth while the water flows. After a few seconds and the water should run out the left nostril. Keep breathing slowly and gently through the mouth. After the water begins to flow, wait about 20 - 30 seconds for about half a pot to flow right to left, and then remove the pot and stand up.
5. Before changing sides, blow out gently through both nostrils to clear water and mucus from the nose. It is important that you do not blow hard at this point or you will send water up into the ear tubes and sinuses. All that is needed is a couple of slow, soft blows out into the sink to remove the water in the nose. Do not pinch the nostrils to create extra force, or blow hard and vigorously.
6. Repeat steps 3 & 4 as above, but with the nose cone entering from the left nostril and the flow of water going left to right. After the pot runs dry, stand up, blow out gently through both nostrils and then prepare to dry out the nose. Read: Drying the nose
7. If, after doing the above steps, there is still a mucus blockage, the whole process may be repeated several times until it clears. If you regularly need to do several pots to effectively clear nasal mucus, it is easiest to mix several liters of solution in a bowl beforehand.
8. Always do half a pot right to left, then half a pot left to right. Repeating this sequence is better than doing one whole pot in each direction, and taking a break to refill in between sides. It also gives the mucus a better chance to dissolve and exit more quickly.


Drying The Nose
Drying the nose properly is a very important part of the practice. Never neglect to do this part properly. People with high blood pressure should be careful of this part. If dizziness results when draining the nose, drying should only be done standing upright.
1. First bend forwards from the waist and hang the head upside down with the nose pointing towards the floor, letting any residual water drain from the nose for 10 - 20 seconds. Then point the nose towards the knees. In each position, gently breathe in the mouth and out the nose about 10 times. A few droplets of water may run down.
2. Then stand up to do some rapid breathing through the nostrils. First do 10 breaths through both nostrils together, sniffing in and out moderately with a bit more emphasis on the exhalation. Then close off the right nostril with one finger and do 10 rapid sniffing breaths through the left nostril only. Then do 10 sniffing breaths through the right nostril only. Finally, do 10 breaths again through both nostrils together.
All this should clear and dry the nose. If it feels as if there is still some water in there, repeat the whole drying process again. Failure to dry the nose properly may manifest the symptoms of a cold for several hours. Leaving dirty water in the sinus passages or Eustachian tubes may also result in infection.

Thanks for this Sunshine.. I've read the set of instructions you've given here in several other places. Whoa that's weird, the guy doing it with the kettle!

The past few days I've actually just tried to go with what feels right and what seems to work, instead of trying to hard to get the posture and angles right according to all the pictures and instructions I've seen. It's been a whole lot better, hardly any water down the back of my nose at all. I'm finding that I actually need to tilt my head up a little because if my chin and forehead are in line with each other, I'm just guzzling water. Maybe this has something to do with the nasal surgery I had when I was a teenager. I suffered from sinus problems and my parents thought they were helping by giving surgery a try. I wish I'd known that all I needed to do was eliminate various things from my diet. That's Western medicine for you -- aways try drugs and surgery first.

Drying is proving rather tricky. I try to be gentle, but at the same time you need to make sure you get as much of the water out as you can. My nasal passages seem to be prone to swelling up quite easily so I have to be very careful.

I really like this and I can see myself sticking with it. I could do with a less expensive source of salt though. What do you use? For salt on our food I've been buying Himalayan sea salt, it's good natural stuff but probably top-of-the-market in price. If I'm running it through my nose rather than ingesting it, maybe just ordinary sea salt will do?

I used the neti pot every day for about 1 ½ year; I made it part of my daily morning routine. It really helped me. Totally cleared by sinus’s and they remain clear today. Now I only use when I get blocked through being on airplanes and if I get a cold.

Drying is tricky, keep changing what u do slightly, you will find what works for you soon enough. I had to snort pretty hard, just not very very hard. Short sharp hard snorts, like 1 second long for each snort.

The temperature of the water is very important. Too cold and it …kinda of hurts and is unpleasant. I was having the water too hot for a long time too. Although the hot-ness felt nice when doing it I found that the heat made the skin inside the nose swell up, which then lead to difficulty drying.
Water needs to be so that you cannot feel it. Neirther too cold, nor too hot, just like Goldilocks would have it….just right!

Also, I have to do it prior to showering because if I showered beforehand i then got too hot and skin inside the nose swelled up and made it the whole procedure tricky .

I have Himalayan rock salt for my food, but at £10 a bag, I’m not sniffing that up my nose, it’s more expensive than coke! I just use sea salt in my neti pot. (I’m sure u know not to use common table salt.)