Wednesday, March 5, 2008

The Neti Pot

I've been having trouble with allergies for awhile now. I would take some meds for it, and it was ok. I would get a little dried out and stop taking them. A friend told me about the neti pot. It's this little teapot that cleanses your nasal cavities. If my research is correct, this is a yoga practice that is supposed to increase your breathing techniques. It's not an easy process, so don't let this woman in the photo fool you. The water does NOT flow freely. It takes awhile to get the hang of it. In fact, don't be surprised if you choke the first week you try this. So far, I think it is helpful. My eyes aren't as puffy in the morning, and my head isn't as stopped up. I guess time will tell. Has anyone else ever used one?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I tried one and the water kept coming out of my eyeballs, and I hated the feeling of being drowned- I probably wasn't doing it right but I just threw it away- I figured make up can hide the flaws due to allergies :)

Queen Bee said...

I've used a pseudo-neti pot. In fact, I got the idea from Dr. Oz on an Oprah episode. The trick is to have your head tilted to one side. For example, if you're pouring into your left nostril, tilt your head far to the right. When I first tried it, I kept thinking it would feel like I'm drowning, but once you start pouring, the water just goes in one nostril and flows out of the other. You also need to use warm, salt water--I can't remember the proportions of the salt to water.

What was my pseudo-neti pot? ;-D I tilted a huge funnel to the tip of my nostril and poured the water from a big plastic cup! (I didn't want to spend the $$$ on the real thing in case it didn't work!)

Anyway, I think it helped with nasal congestion I had from a cold and other airborne irritants.

Mrs. Flax said...

Did you really let Reese Witherspoon use your neti pot? Cause that's kind of nasty.

just north of Eastwick said...

I saw this thing on Oprah, too. It kind of freaked me out. I don't think I could willingly pour water into my nose.....sounds like some sort of torture technique. But if it works for you, then more power to ya.

Lulu said...

I've heard about these.... The process wigs me out.

Barb Smith said...

I think it would feel weird but I've read that the benefits are tremendous! I really wish my husband would try it...he has horrible sinus problems.

*crosses fingers* Maybe??

Anonymous said...

I used one last year when I had a terrible sinus infection which I think was caused by some allergies of some kind. It didn't take me long to get the hang of it, and after using it I felt pretty good. It was nice to watch that "stuff" come out of my nose.

From time to time I still use it. I'd like to use it more often, but it doesn't seem quite natural to me. Just don't do it without the packet of saline stuff. It burns like hell!