The Neti Pot and Dealing With Allergies

Neti pots flush out the nasal cavities by using gravity to draw the flow of saline. Some modern variants available from pharmacies are made of flexible plastic and can be compressed to exert additional pressure. In recent years alternative strategies have been developed,^[2] including bulb syringes in which the flow is created by squeezing a bulb and more advanced ‘pulsatile devices’ which mechanically pump the saline.

Bulb syringes provide the user with complete control over the pressure. Pulsatile devices either pump at a constant pressure or require the user to turn a control knob. Neti pots, on the other hand, require the user to turn the head (with the neti pot inserted) in order to control the pressure.

The use of a neti pot requires mixing up a saline solution that will be poured through the nasal passages. A typical saline solution is a mixture of around 500 ml of water with 5 g of salt. Sodium bicarbonate is sometimes added (2.5 g) to buffer the solution and make it more gentle on the sinuses, but the effectiveness of this is unproven.^[3] The neti pot used with a saline solution has been shown to be an effective treatment for hay fever,^[4] sinusitis, and other nasal conditions. Both isotonic and hypertonic saline is used for neti.

• Sinus Rinse Bottle 
• Drink LOTS of water
• Allergy Shots {which I hear aren’t working for most people}
• one drop of peppermint oil under the nose
• Simply Saline
• Neilmed Sinus Rinse bottle from Costco!