Allergies affect me during both Spring and Autumn, so this year, as my sinus headaches began back in February, I knew I had to take action.  After a couple years of hearing about this neti pot fad, I finally met a friend who uses one!

After watching Christina use her neti pot one night, I felt empowered enough to purchase one and give it a whirl myself.  I went to Earth Fare and decided I would only buy one if I could find one that was American made and not plastic, figuring I had given myself an easy out from getting one.  Instead, I found the Baraka brand, made of clay, adorable, lead-free, and made here in the States.

I gave my new neti pot a try and thought I was about to drown myself.  The feeling was very unnatural as I shoved the spout into a nostril and let water gush into my sinus cavity.  I kept with it though.

I could feel a difference within a few days, and within a week of using my new neti pot, I was elated with the lack of headaches, the easy breathing, the sneeze-free days…  Ahhhh….  I was hooked!

So I began using it every day, deciding that the shower was a great location… until it slipped from my hands and shattered.  I stood there, water flowing over me, in shock and unable to move, frowning, for a number of minutes before I realized I had to move on.  I felt devastated.

Like any good junkie, I ran out and got a new one… bought this one in a lovely cream color.  I will use the sweet blue pottery chunks for some sort of art project.

My sinuses and better, my earaches are rare, I can breathe, and I learned not to neti in the shower.  Over the bathroom sink gives far less room for a fall, plus, how environmentally friendly am I to take such a Hollywood shower anyhow, wasting water while clean out my head?

If you are interested in a neti pot, or have allergies, I highly recommend you make the dive.  Neti pots are fantastic.  As I say, “Neti pots:  It’s like a shower, inside your head.”  A few tips:

• When picking a neti pot, like with all purchases, think about what you want for your money.  USA-made was important to me, but the majority I have seen are not made domestically.  I wanted ceramic to avoid purchasing a non-recyclable plastic, but plastic is more durable in case you drop it or if you are traveling.  Plastic also weighs less for travels.  Lastly, you may want one with a handle for easy use.  Mine does not have one, which may be part of why I dropped it.
• Prices range from $10 on sale to $25 at Earth Fare and Whole Foods.  The $10 sale model was the right price point, and ceramic, but far less pretty and not American-made.  I decided to spend $19 for mine since I keep it on my counter (hence wanted something I found happy-looking) and it was made American.  Again, refer to the first bullet:  what do you want for your money.
• You have to add sea salt… I keep mine in a cute little jar by the sink.  Instructions say to use a heaping teaspoon.  Frankly, I realized I use closer to a tablespoon (not at all heaping)…  If you have too little salt, it really stings your sinuses.
• You want the water right at room temperature.  I thought really warm would be nice and dissolve the salt… actually water that warm was very uncomfortable… tepid water is perfect and flows with ease through my sinuses.
• After you use your neti pot, blow your nose really good.  All of the snot is gone, but if you forget to blow your nose to empty any water hiding in your head, the next time you bend over to pick something up, a river will fly right out of one of your nostrils without warning.  Trust me.
• Finally, I challenge you to a One-Week-Daily-Neti-Pot-Challenge!  When you buy one and try it, believe me, you will be annoyed and think “Why on Earth am I trying this?!”.  By day three, you feel like a pro at it though, and you start reaping the benefits of better breathing, clearer eyes, happy skin, and headaches and earaches be gone!

Now get out there and get neti-ing!

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 10:52 pm and is filed under health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.