alt Hacker NewsAs long as we're giving decongestant advice, in my experience a neti pot (sinus rinse) really helps.
I also take pseudoephedrine when things get bad. I'm not trying to push a natural stuff only approach.
The neti pot really seems to reduce the odds that sinus congestion will spiral into a terrible sinus headache.
Do be aware of the need to use sterilized water to avoid a possible dangerous infection, though. Distilled water is the easiest way.
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I tried this once when I was a teenager. As far as I remember, I took the precautions of sterilized water, getting the right salt, etc.
Guess I didn’t know how to properly use it, since I gave myself an awful sinus infection and was bedridden for next two weeks. To this day it’s the worst I’ve ever felt. Never touching a neti pot since then :/
It works wonders on me and family members. Except we just always go for the Neil Med bottles from Costco or Target. They are also easy to disinfect in the microwave.
Always distilled water, though. It’s not worth waiting to boil the water, let it cool down, and then manage the dish used after. It’s also easy to get just the right temperature using distilled water in the microwave.
I would strongly advise against broadly recommending this across the board, because while rinsing your sinuses can help with some infections, it can make the situation considerably worse if you're working with e.g. inflammation instead. For a lot of people the difference isn't easy to tell and they end up making their own situation worse. As always, ask a medical professional, even your pharmacist can tell you what to do or not to do once you describe the symptoms.
Total anecdata, but when I was college age I would get bronchitis about annually that usually started from something that would have at least 1 nostril completely blocked for a week or so. I read about neti pots, bought a pharmacy "sinus rinse" and started using it daily.
I'm 58 now and I haven't had bronchitis like I used to since.
My theory is that it not only washes out stuff that might lead to infection, but also keeps your membranes from drying out and cracking, opening a vector for them.
If you're worried about the possible infection or don't want to mix it yourself, check out Arm & Hammer Simply Saline. It can be used like a neti pot for sinus rinse.
> Do be aware of the need to use sterilized water to avoid a possible dangerous infection, though. Distilled water is the easiest way.
It must be noted that the infection is incredibly rare and requires multiple conditions (like dysfunction of the immune system, unsafe tap water...)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naegleria_fowleri#Pathogenicit...
- https://charlotte.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2023/03/DOHChar...
For example here in France tap water is disinfected with chlorine and hot water must be heated to at least 50°C which is enough to kill the microorganism.
On the other hand, depending how the distilled water is sourced (container bought in a supermarket...) & used (opened/closed daily...), it can actually create a much riskier source of infection.