Pain During Nasal Rinse

Recently, I used the squirt bottle and one salt packet from the Ayrs Nasal Rinse Kit a few times because I had very minor congestion. Had to stop due to pain in my sinuses while I was rinsing.

There is no infection, no serious congestion, no sinus pain afterwards. I am very gentle with the pressure as well. Tried again a week later without the salt, no change, very painful while rinsing.

No, I do not YET have a Neti Pot. Plan of getting one, mainly because of past posts that recommend not using squirt bottles due to too forceful a pressure.

My questions is, why do my sinuses hurt during a nasal rinse when I know I'm being gentle, I do not have any infection and only minor congestion?

You can't rinse without salt - that's got to be MORE harsh than rinsing with an isotonic rinse. OUCH. Go buy the neilmed neti pot starter kit. I find that the salt is 110% essential as is also the proper dilution. I also am quite sensitive to temperature - either too cold or hot is unpleasant.

again... ouch.

Violet wrote:Recently, I used the squirt bottle and one salt packet from the Ayrs Nasal Rinse Kit a few times because I had very minor congestion. Had to stop due to pain in my sinuses while I was rinsing.

There is no infection, no serious congestion, no sinus pain afterwards. I am very gentle with the pressure as well. Tried again a week later without the salt, no change, very painful while rinsing.

Violet, like elader, I am sensitive to the temperature of the water. For me it is best to be warm, if you used cold water, perhaps your nose didn't like that temperature. But I have read on this site that some people prefer cold. I have used the neti pot, the squirt bottle, and finally a nasal irrigator. I didn't have a problem with any of them, but as I recall, the neti pot flows with gravity and that may be gentler. You may find a better experience with the neti pot. Nasal irrigation has improved the condition of my sinuses, and if I get busy and forget for a day or so, my sinuses become congested again.

Best wishes in solving this problem.

Jan

I use a Neti pot. At first, it was uncomfortable, but that does pass.

The solution must be isotonic, meaning it needs to match the natural salinity of the nasal passages. Generally, if it burns, add MORE salt or INCREASE the water temperature a little. I know, adding more salt sounds crazy. I thought so, but it worked (for me). The correct temperature is usually slightly above body temp.

The usual ratio is 1/4 tsp., heaping, non-iodized salt to 8 oz. of warm distilled (I would think reverse osmosis would be fine too) water.

Someone once suggested the following:

• Burning/irritation — increase salt.
• "Water-up-the-nose" feeling (like in a swimming pool) — increase water temperature.

You'll have to find a balance that suits your body. Mine is 8oz. distilled water, microwaved for 28 seconds (in my oven) with a very heaping 1/4 teaspoon of neti salt.

Great help, thanks everyone for the advice, will try it again tonight per your suggestions.

Another question. Many of us need to be extremely careful with our salt intake. And, as you know, while rinsing with salt your absorbing an unspecific amount because you can taste the salt a bit afterwards. Even if your careful to eliminate as much moisture and water from your sinuses by blowing your nose gently.

So, does anyone have any idea what the salt absorption amount into your body is from the rinse? Should some of us be concerned it's too much?

i use the squirt bottle and while it was never actually painful, it was really uncomfortableto start with but as the others have said temperture makes a big difference- tepid or luke warm somewhere close to body temp seems to be the most comfortable- correct dilution of the salt is imprtant too, at the correct dilution it is isotonic which is the same salt level as body if it is too salty it will draw fluid out from cells and this would irriate the sensitive mucosa if it is too dilute is will mean that fluid will tend to transfer into cells in the mucosa and may feel more congested-

i have been a moth breather because of chronic sinus congestion for as long as i can remember, antihistimines were of little help, since using these irrigation fluids i have clear sinuses and can actually breath through my nose! this is despite living somewhere with one of the highest incidence of hayfever and asthma in the world! i hated the feeling of this irrigation at first but it is worth while given the results- now i only use it occasionally

My recipe for the netipot is:

1/4 tsp of kosher salt
1/8 tsp of baking soda
1 cup slightly warm water