Neti Pot or Neilmed Sinus Rinse Bottle

I have chronic hay fever, rhinitis and post nasal drip. The dry air indoors really irritates my nasal passages. I've tried using a cool mist single room humidifier with negligible results.

I decided to check out Neti Pot or nasal/sinus irrigation as a way to decongest. Neti Pot uses gradual gravity to rinse out nose and sinuses. I don't have the patience to slowly run solution through nose and having to tilt head laterally. So I bought the Neilmed Sinus Rinse Bottle System with premixed packets of isotonic saline solution at Walmart. Tried it for the first time this AM. I was a bit wary remembering all the times I got water up my nose in swimming pool. Oh, the stinging. The directions are well-explained. Just wash bottle, cap, and tube in distilled water and baby shampoo or mild dish soap and shake vigorously with finger over hole in cap. Then squeeze out forcefully all the soapy water with bottle upright. Be careful. It can squirt up to 3 feet. Rinse thoroughly with distilled water and squeeze out any remaining soap. Put up end to dry. To disinfect, put bottle, cap, and tube in microwave for 60-90 seconds.

When ready to use, fill with distilled water to the line on the bottle (8 oz). Put in microwave about 30 seconds to bring temp to body temp. Dump packet of sodium bicarbonate and sodium chloride into bottle of distilled water and replace cap with tube. Shake gently to dissolve with finger over hole in top of cap. Then just go into bathroom and lean over sink. Keep bottle upright and insert against one nostril and gently squeeze with mouth open and breathing. Water will come out the opposite nostril. When bottle half empty, do same for other nostril. Gently blow nose.

There was a lot of gunk in my sinuses and nose. I was amazed at how clearly I can breathe now. No postnasal drip. No irritated nose. I periodically use saline nasal spray throughout the day to keep my nasal passages moist. It is recommended that you do a nasal rinse about an hour before bedtime so any retained solution can come out. Can be great help for PAP users. Also great to rinse before using corticosteroid nasal spray like flonase, beconase, etc.

Now I have another use for my home water distiller. I drink only distilled water. I use it in my VPAP humidifier. Now I use it to make Neilmed sinus rinse solution. I keep four 3-liter bottles on hand at all times and when I empty one, I immediately make another gallon.

When I first tried the Neti Rinse I got the pot and soon discovered I didn't like the pot and then bought the bottle one. I definitely like the bottle cause you have more control of the pressure that can be used.

Squeeze bottle for me too with the neilmed mix. I was poking around on amazon last night and found alkalol. It's got great reviews. I think I'm going to try it.

I use the bottle rinse as well and really have had good results. I, too, have hay fever and allergic rhinitis. My pulmonary doctor told me I could use it 10 times a day if I needed it! Usually only use it once a day. How often are you or others rinsing?

I purchased the Nasaline Device since I will need to be irrigating after my surgery. I am also making one ditch effort to see if this can help my sinus congestion.

Unfortunately, the right nostril where the deviated septum is feels just as blocked after irrigation as before which has been my prior experience. I have been experimenting with various amounts of alkolol which I really like alot although it doesn't seem to be helping that much. But definitely give it a try Nozzlenut.

Viking Gnome, I am so glad you are finding nasal rinsing helpful. Hope it continues to work for you.

49er

Great thread for those who haven't tried nasal irrigation!

If you run out of packets, or just want to make your own solution, this is the recipe my ENT doctor gave me:

8 oz distilled water
1/2 teaspoon non-iodized salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

For deeper cleaning (though this takes practice) you can tilt your head back for a moment after introducing solution, then forward after a few seconds and solution will exit through mouth. I do this once or twice at most.

RandyJ wrote:Great thread for those who haven't tried nasal irrigation!

If you run out of packets, or just want to make your own solution, this is the recipe my ENT doctor gave me:

8 oz distilled water
1/2 teaspoon non-iodized salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

For deeper cleaning (though this takes practice) you can tilt your head back for a moment after introducing solution, then forward after a few seconds and solution will exit through mouth. I do this once or twice at most.

Hi Randy,

It will be awhile before I run out of packets. Long story.

Thanks for advice on the deeper cleaning. I will definitely give that a try.

49er

Nozzelnut wrote:Squeeze bottle for me too with the neilmed mix. I was poking around on amazon last night and found alkalol. It's got great reviews. I think I'm going to try it.

You can also buy Alkalol at Walgreens.

Suggestion:

Save the (expensive) saline packets for travel or anytime you must be away from home.

Make up the salt & backing soda mix DRY. Put in small self-sealing container and dedicate a measuring spoon of the correct size for the water container you typically use.

Contrary to expectations if it is saline, especially when buffered with the bicarb, it DOES NOT sting. The saline needs to be 'close' to your bodies natural fluid salinity, way more or way less will sting.

It's does NOT need to be exact, just a good faith effort to mix the correct proportions will satisfy most people's sensitivity but your mileage may vary so be as exact as *YOU* need, or even adjust from the standard.

Just don't assume that less is better when you adjust. Think Goldilocks: Just Right.

Personally I prefer the NeilMed type squeeze bottle, but even a regular cup can be used by just placing the cup of warm solution above your UPPER LIP instead of the lower lip, and 'drinking' it through your nose as you would sip your coffee or tea.

The bottle is definitely better for when it is available but knowing that even a paper cup will work as long as I have a solution packet in my pocket (or can get some salt) means it's almost always possible to rinse.

In a pinch (pun intended), leaving out the baking soda is NOT the worst thing in the world. The buffering effect can make it even more comfortable for some people however.

Warm water -- as warm as is comfortable to you, at least body temperature and definitely NOT hot enough to burn or be uncomfortable.

One warning: After doing this, especially with the NeilMed type bottle if you bend over at the waist, even an hour or more later, you main have saline run out of your sinuses pretty seriously.

Just be aware of this, especially if you leave the house and need to bend over to fetch an item from a low shelf at the supermarket or off the lunch table while standing.

Also, consider doing this WELL AHEAD of bed time (an hour or more) to avoid having all that saline get trapped in your sinuses if you lie down immediately.

....even a regular cup can be used by just placing the cup of warm solution above your UPPER LIP instead of the lower lip, and 'drinking' it through your nose as you would sip your coffee or tea.

How in the heck -- got a picture or better yet a video tutorial on this?

The one-hour-later-drip-when-you-least-expect-it phenomenon is also pretty funny sometimes -- not always, especially if I'm leaning over my keyboard or an important document when it happens.

I tried the NeilMed bottle as well, and it doesn't seem to work for me. I have chronic congestion that moves from one nostril to another, depending which side I'm lying on. The rinse hasn't helped move anything out of my sinuses or nostrils. I've used it 3 times in the last 3 days, and my congestion has actually gotten worse. I now have a constant drip from whichever side is congested. It's really annoying when I first put my mask on. I can feel it dripping down my nasal pillows and around the base of my nose.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong, or need to do something else as well. Any ideas?

digitalepiphany wrote:I tried the NeilMed bottle as well, and it doesn't seem to work for me. I have chronic congestion that moves from one nostril to another, depending which side I'm lying on. The rinse hasn't helped move anything out of my sinuses or nostrils. I've used it 3 times in the last 3 days, and my congestion has actually gotten worse. I now have a constant drip from whichever side is congested. It's really annoying when I first put my mask on. I can feel it dripping down my nasal pillows and around the base of my nose.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong, or need to do something else as well. Any ideas?

It may not be for you, but then again you may just need to stay with it and watch out for a couple of gotchas.

Your side to side congestion in similar to mine -- concentrate on the side that is congested until the saline come out through the other.

Contrary something I think was stated: Don't (necessarily) use a LOT of force to squeeze the bottle. Use enough to get it in; I seldom do it with any sort of violence or suddenness. Just enough to make it go through.

AVOID lying down immediately afterwards -- you will likely have saline all up in your sinuses and that CAN make you feel more stuffed up FOR A WHILE.

Sit up, bend over head down, sit for a bit and repeat -- not only will the warm saline circulate or permeate all the sinus spaces it will be able to find it's way back out. Some of your sinuses have valleys and ponds which will otherwise collect the saline -- at least it will start to break up the gunky mucus, but it's still will make you feel stuffy at first.

Do it a few times until it is running free and clear (saline vs. mucus). Then give it a bit of time and some position changes before going to bed.

It can be a REAL NUISANCE when you are horribly congested but once your passages and sinus spaces clean out AND you let the saline also DRAIN OUT you will likely breath a bit better while sleeping.


As to the other question about "drinking from the upper lip through the nose", I do not have a video and would probably burn it if I did

It's as simple as it sounds -- it's just so unexpected to work that most people never try it.

Just sip your 'tea' (i.e., warm saline) gently through your nose. No special pot nor bottle is actually necessary, although I do like the squeeze effect of the NeilMed bottle.

Thanks. I guess I'll just have to keep at it. Right now, when I use it, the saline comes out clear. It's almost as if it's just pushing everything into my sinuses, and just letting it collect there. It feels like I have a really bad sinus infection right now. I haven't had one in years, and it'd be a pretty good coincidence to get one now, but I think it's from the rinse. I've read that you don't want to overdo it either. That was from Dr. Krakow's video series, The Nose Knows. Should I try it more than once a day?

digitalepiphany wrote:Thanks. I guess I'll just have to keep at it. Right now, when I use it, the saline comes out clear. It's almost as if it's just pushing everything into my sinuses, and just letting it collect there. It feels like I have a really bad sinus infection right now. I haven't had one in years, and it'd be a pretty good coincidence to get one now, but I think it's from the rinse. I've read that you don't want to overdo it either. That was from Dr. Krakow's video series, The Nose Knows. Should I try it more than once a day?

For severe congestion 2x day isn't unheard of, give it a week or so. Just make sure when you introduce solution in one nostril that it exits through OTHER nostril.

Usually people who irrigate don't get sinus infections, the saline keeps everything clean and unfriendly to bacteria.

It could be a coincidence that I got a sinus infection one day into using the sinus wash, but I haven't had a sinus infection in about ten years, so it's too much of coincidence to believe. I'm pretty sure that the rinse is just pushing everything farther up, and it just hasn't cleared it out yet. My evidence for this is the fact that nothing but water comes out of the other nostril, even though I'm still congested. I'll try doing it with a gentler pressure this time and see what happens. I think I may hang my head over a pot of boiling water to see if the steam will help loosen it up first.