homerispresident....how do you do the nasal rinse?

Question

I had posted earlier about a sinus infection that is still here!

Answer 1

Hi Emily,

To do a nasal rinse, you'll need the following;
1/2 teaspoon table salt, an 8 or 10 ounce glass, and a hand towel. Put the salt into the glass and add about 3 ounces of HOT water, stir to dissolve the salt completely, then fill the rest of the glass with luke warm water so that it's pleasantly warm, not hot.

Now, either go outside or stand over your bathtub, 'cause your gonna spray, guaranteed! I go outside so that I don't have to wash out the tub and wipe the walls after.

First, gargle and expel like you normally would.

What you're going to do next is 'drink' the warm salt water - are you ready for this?? - through your nose! Ya, I can hear you from here. EEEWWWWW! But just remember, this is going to work

Put the towel over your shoulder, spread your feet apart (trust me!), and then bend forward (don't drop your towel). Tilt your head way forward and down so that you're looking at your knees, place the rim of the glass to the spot between your upper lip and your nose, and as you slowly pour the water, breathe in through your nose. This part is easy because gravity causes the water to 'gargle' through your upper sinuses while still permitting you to inhale air past the water. So far, so good?

You can stop inhaling, stand up and cough the waste out. By now you'll have figured out what the towel is for!

I know this next bit is unpleasant, but try to endure. It'll be worth it, I promise!

Next, you repeat the exact same procedure as described above, only this time, once your sinuses are full of the salt water, continue to inhale through your nose as you raise your head and stand up straight. You'll choke a bit and cough because you cannot avoid aspiring some of the water, but you'll notice that as you cough you'll be spraying a lot of water out. This is good as it ensures you've cleansed the back of your sinus cavities!

Again, your towel will prove most useful and you'll be glad you're not indoors! Use the towel as a 'Kleenex' - go ahead, it's washable.

OK. So now you've rinsed your upper sinuses. I'll bet you've probably had about enough of this by now. But, you still have the lower ones to do. They're a little trickier. And, while these only require one procedure, it is not an easy one to master. You won't like this, but just do it anyways.

Standing upright, place the glass between your upper lip and your nose, suck up the water and literally drink as much as you possibly can through your nose. When you feel the warmth going down your throat as you swallow you'll know you've done it right. Be prepared to choke, gag, and cough. This is perfectly normal. Go ahead and spew, spray and cough some more. Towel please!!! Blow your nose. You're done! I like to repeat this entire process at least twice per occassion so that I know I've got all the bad stuff out.

You'll instantly notice that your sinuses are clear and dry, the congestion is gone, and your head will begin to clear. Your eyes will be watery for a few moments, too, but that will stop.

What you have done is washed away billions of germs with a natural, strong antiseptic - salt. Your sinuses are the perfect breeding ground for most bugs because they're warm, moist, dark, undisturbed and the mucus prevents your body's natural antibodies from getting at the bugs and destroying them. By performing a nasal rinse with salt, you've washed away the excess mucus which contains billions of bad things, disinfected and dried out the breeding ground, and given your body a fighting chance against viral repopulation and it's ensueing infection. You use warm water (never cold) for comfort,- and the salt not only disinfects, it's salinity is necessary to prevent irritation of your sinuses (clear water would hurt like hell).

Hope you feel better real soon.

Answer 2

To do a nasal rinse you need to get a netti pot from the drug store. Mix up the saline solution according to the directions and then tilt your head to one side and pour the solution in one nostril and let it drain it and then repeat for the other side. The box will give detailed instructions on the pamphlet included with it.