The Neti Pot

Two words, people: nasal irrigation.

If you're anything like me (way behind the times, apparently), you're going, "Huh?"

And you'll also laugh your ass off when you see this picture:

I know I did.

So, for those of you not in the know, as I was for my entire life before Easter Sunday, a Neti Pot is used to naturally flush out your sinus passages. It's been around for about a bazillion years.

How does it work, you ask? Well, now that I've done it once, I'm a veritable expert and can tell you.

You fill your little pot with a saline solution and, well, dump it through your nose.

My pot looks like this:

Cute, huh?

Don't use regular old table salt to make your solution, because it has iodine in it. And for some reason you don't want to be putting that in your nose. I don't know why. I've only done it once, and frankly, the only research I've done on it is reading the box and then using Google Images to find the above. Let me just say it's amazing how many images are on the 'net of people using Neti Pots. Check it out if you don't believe me.

So you put some non-iodine salt or non-iodine sea salt (1/4 teaspoon, to be exact) into a cup or so of warm water (not hot, not cold...you want to be comfortable, after all, when you're putting something in your nose), and then you cram the pot up one nostril, enough to make a seal. Then you tilt your head just so, and slowly pour the solution into your nose. It'll run right out the other side, hopefully taking all the stuff in your nose that you don't want to be there with it. Breathe through your mouth (obviously) and you'll do just fine.

It's remarkably easy to do, and I gotta say, it works. Really, really, really well. My sinus passages have been jacked up since high school due to seasonal allergies, but this little pot is going to be my salvation. I've only done it once, this morning (when there was no hubby around to laugh at me), and I can already feel stuff breaking up in there. I'm so gosh-darned excited about it that I'm gonna do it again when I get home.

"Look Zozo, Mommy's using a nose douche!"

So, since I'm a new and excited convert to the practice of nasal irrigation, I'm spreading the word. My very progressive Aunt P turned me onto it (after I laughed at her pot and her bag of salt, which looked remarkably like she was getting ready to smoke some crack) and bought me my very own pot and bag of non-iodine salt at Whole Foods.

Yeah, definitely get your own Neti Pot. It's not something you'll want to share.