Nasal Irrigation: Put that in your nose hole and (don't) blow it

    I love nasal irrigation. I have been using a neti pot since people thought it was a drug use device. For many years, I have been using this beauty:

    The idea is easy enough, you add water and the premixed salt, tilt your head to the side, hold the spout of the neti to the top nostril, and allow the saline water to travel through the top nostril into the bottom nostril. I'm close enough to this neti pot that I probably should name it. But, over the years, I've found some methods that work, and some starling articles that have forced me to change how I do things. 

   There was a huge uproar, haha I can't call it an uproar if only a handful of people knew about it, there was concern in the natural nerd community about the safety of neti use when not one, but two people died in Louisiana from using this technique. Brain eating ameoba. Scary, eh? But those people were using unpurified water from a dirty ass body of water. I, however, am paranoid. I now boil water ahead of time, or gently heat bottled water. It was an isolated case, it happened nowhere near where I am now, but it's still something I protect against. 

   Now, a considerably less interesting alteration in my method, I started mixing my own salt. No iodized, fine ground salt, and baking soda. The salt flushes out the excess mucus and the dirt, the baking soda soothes your nose holes and prevents irritation and burning. I usually use a half and half mix, resulting in about a teaspoon of mix per neti pot. 

   Since moving and being introduced to a new method, I think I have to cheat on my neti pot. I am now using the Nasopure, and I must say, this love affair is just working. We shower together every day, and it's just such an easy relationship. I do my same mix, use hot ass water, but the plastic allows the temp to drop to a usable level faster, and the method itself speeds up the process! A little pressure to the body of the bottle, and a few seconds later my nasal cavity is singing. My neti pot and I spent a ton of quality time together, with the slow gravitational flow of water, but this one is straight to the point, and is no nonsense. I have been so good about using this method, that my allergies don't exist and I never say I just don't have the time. 

       Seriously, it's terrifying the first few times using any method of nasal irrigation, but it's worth it. Get that spout in your nose hole, and get green!