Allergies – Walt in PA

Yesterday I went on to tell you a little bit about my allergy issues and the dilemma I was having. Rather than call the doctor and make another appointment, I decided to look into a suggestion made by Carlos in the comments section. Carlos wrote: I don’t suffer from allergies but my wife does, big time. She takes Claritin D but the one thing she does use that really helps is something called a Neti Pot. Looks like a little tea pot..fill it with warm water, add some salt and shake it up. Poor it into one nostril and it’ll fill up your sinuses and eventually come out the other nostril. Once the neti pot is half empty, switch to the other nostril. You’d be amazed at all the “stuff” that comes out. I’ve used it and it takes awhile to get used to the sensation but it works great. Most drug stores carry the neti pot along with little packets of pre measure salt. My first thought to this Neti Pot was that it was downright crazy and there was no way I was pouring saline solution up one nostril and letting it fall out of the other. Putting the gross factor aside, I did a little research. The results were primarily positive with a couple of negatives thrown into the mix. Some people were having problems with the saline solution making its way into their ears, causing further congestion, while others raved about the results. I threw caution to the wind and made plans to stop by a local CVS Pharmacy on my way home from work. While I was unable to get ahold of a Neti Pot, I was able to find a Sinus Irrigation kit which is very similar, you simply squeeze a bottle and shoot a stream of water up your nose rather than use gravity. I paid a total of $12.99 for the product and made my way home. I read over the directions and gave it a shot. My major concern was that it was going cause the same feeling as when you get water up your nose swimming. Fortunately, it doesn't feel like that at all. The sensation is very strange as water builds up in your sinus cavity, then begins flowing out of your other nostril. It was kind of cool, and very gross, to see all of the stuff, as Carlos mentioned, come out as a result. I had some slight sinus pressure immediately after the irrigation, but felt much better a few minutes later. I plan on giving the treatment a few days to see how my allergies react to my sinuses being flushed in this manner. While I am not cured, it is much easier to breath through my nose and I feel far less stuffy. Do you have any experience with a Neti Pot or other forms of Sinus Irrigation?