"SinuCleanse Nasal Wash System, Unbreakable Neti Pot With Salt Packets" (SinuCleanse)
As gross as this was initially, I have found the Neti pot works like nothing else in alleviating nasal irritation, and has the advantage of being extremely mild and non-toxic.
About 50 million Americans suffer from rhinitis, a condition that includes a stuffy nose, sneezing and itchy eyes, mouth and throat, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. It is usually caused by allergies but also can have other causes. Many people suffer chronically from nasal and sinus symptoms, including post-nasal drip, when mucus from the nose runs into the throat.
The neti pot is used to cleanse mucus from the nasal passages, and may also help to rinse out allergens. You fill the pot with salt-water solution, tilt your head to one side and pour water into the top nostril. Gravity takes over and the water pours out the other nostril.
"People say at first that this seems weird and disgusting," says Melissa A. Pynnonen, co-director of the Michigan Sinus Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "But generally, if I can get adults to do it once, they don't want to stop since it treats post-nasal drip and mucus better than anything else."
A neti pot, often made of plastic or ceramic, generally costs from $10 to $15. The saline solution can be purchased pre-packaged, or you can mix it at home. Dr. Pynnonen recommends using the pot twice daily, mixing eight ounces of lukewarm tap water with a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt and a quarter teaspoon of baking soda. She tells her patients to make the sound of the letter "k" to prevent the unpleasant sensation of water running into the throat.
Scientific evidence supports nasal irrigation for relief of chronic nasal symptoms. The Cochrane Collaboration, in a 2007 analysis, reviewed eight papers on neti pots and other types of nasal irrigation and concluded there is evidence that it is beneficial for chronic nasal symptoms, either as a sole treatment or in conjunction with standard treatments. A 2006 study on neti pots, by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, found regular use improved quality of life for allergy sufferers.
[From A Pot, Short and Squat, To Clear Your Nose Out - WSJ.com]
There are alternative devices (electric ones even), but the Neti pot benefits from being simple, with a long history.
The NYT had a similar article a few months ago, with a surprisingly similar title:
Seeking the advice of a masseuse and acupuncturist, Jana Warchalowski, Ms. Hakman was urged to try something she didn’t even want to think about. “Jana said she had two words for me: neti pot,” Ms. Hakman said. “I’d heard about it before. I just kept thinking, ‘No way, that’s gross.’”
But this fall, Ms. Hakman relented.
“I went out and bought a pretty little ceramic neti pot from Whole Foods,” she said. “I’ve used it every day since. Now, I can breathe again. It’s even gotten rid of the bags under my eyes.”
Originally part of a millennia-old Indian yogic tradition, the practice of nasal irrigation — jala neti — is performed with a small pot that looks like a cross between Aladdin’s lamp and your grandmother’s gravy boat. The neti pot made its way into this country in the early 1970s as a yoga meditation device, but even as yoga became mainstream, the neti pot remained on the fringes of alternative culture.
[snip]
The practice gained wide exposure last spring when it was introduced on Oprah Winfrey’s show by a frequent guest, Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and an author of health books. Dr. Oz explained that bathing the sinus cavities in a warm saline solution can reduce symptoms of allergies, cold, flu and other nasal problems.
He called upon a chronic sinusitis sufferer, identified as Amy from Texas, to demonstrate the neti pot. “Welcome to your nose bidet,” Ms. Winfrey said enthusiastically as the woman inserted the spout of a ceramic pot into one nostril, tilted her head and let a solution of non-iodized salt and water flow up her nose and out the other nostril.
A month later, in a follow-up, Amy spoke by phone on air and reported she’d used a neti pot every day since, with happy results. She had not had a single sinus headache, she said.
[From Short, Stout, Has a Handle on Colds - New York Times]
"Himalayan Institute Neti Pot Nonbreakable - Same day shipping!" (Himalayan Institute)
I use a product called Navage. I believe it to be a modern day neti pot. I like this system because to me it is easier and cleaner. I also like the pre-mixed nose rinses including a eucalyptus one that is my favorite. Check it out!