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| I purchased a Neti Pot about a week ago. It's a ceramic one. I have tried 7 times now to get it to work and the salted water will not run out the other nostril. It just goes in the one and sits there until I try to blow it out. It's actually quite uncomfortable and my sinuses feel really congested for the rest of the day.
I have tried every head position possible to make this more comfortable.
What am I do doing wrong? Am I just not a Neti Pot person? |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Hi Kristen - they can be a bear to get used to! There are quite a few threads here about using a neti so do a quick search on all the threads and I am sure you will get some good advice. |
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| I read through most of the posts about Neti, and I can't seem to find anyone else who has the same problem. When I try to use it nothing comes out the other side. I'm confused! |
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| I don't remember any posts about this problem either. Unfortunately I don't have any helpful advice on this one. |
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| Kristen,
I had read somewhere that a very small number of people have no gap in the right place in the nose (not going to get into technical terms - I'm not qualified) - but that's probably unlikely. I have days where I don't get any through-flow, but usually its OK after a day or two.
Keep trying would be my advice,
All the best,
John.
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Ok - I have had to dig out my neti pot (actually a neti-pot wanna be. Just a little teapot that works just fine) since it is allergy season here now. I won't rub it in by telling you which spring flowers are blooming or that people have started mowing their lawns..... 
I have found that my head does not have to be nearly as parallel to the ground as I thought it would. I imagine this differs in individuals since almost anything related to the body does, but I found I was starting out looking straight down into the sink (forehead and chin on the same level) but I had to lift my head slightly to get the angle right (forehead slightly higher than chin) and make the water flow. You also have to be sure you are rotating your head evenly and not also lifting it as you rotate. So I look straight down, rotate to the right then start to pour, then lift my forehead slowly until it flows. Hope that is helpful. |
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| I got my steel neti pot from the following folk. Their site has loads of really good Neti info and they also sell a video on how to do stage 1 correctly (e.g. too saline a solution can make the nostril block).
http://www.shopneti.co.uk/index.php?referrer=Shopholistic
Regards,
Fiona |
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| I will try it again tomorrow morning with the suggestions listed.
Thank you to all who have replied! Your help is greatly appreciated! |
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| Thank you all so much for all of your help! It actually worked today. It wasn't a steady stream but I did get water to come out my other nostril on both sides.
I think it was that I wasn't paralelle to the floor with my head. I needed to relax more. And that I really had to concentrate to breathe through my mouth!
It still burns a little and makes me a little more congested in the morning but it helps greatly after that.
Thank you!! |
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| Well done for sticking at it !
John |
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| Hi,
It's great you've got it to work,and it will get easier as you go on.You mentioned burning,are you using sea salt in the water?If so are you putting enough in?It's supposed to counteract the natural salt in your nose and the plain water reacting together causing the burning. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | Yeah, the salt is important. For my little ceramic pot, it's about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon that's required. I just use table salt, rather than sea salt. (Can't imagine that a bit of iodine in the table salt would make any difference.) |
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| I never thought that not enough water would cause the burning. I will start using the full 1/4 teaspoon tomorrow.
I'm still not getting a full release of water out the other nostril. Its more of a drip, drip, dribble. But it's working. I can't believe how much my sense of smell has improved!
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| I've got it down now!
However I ran out of sea salt. I just purchased non iodized salt, will that work? |
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| The link I posted above gives the full run down on salts. Also you need a 9% saline solution in luke warm water. Any other salinity / temperature tends to encourage blockage and/or burning.
Fee |
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| I've just used the water in the shower for years.
I just bend over and let the water fill up my nasal cavity and then bubble the water for a while.
Cleans me out every time.
Also, I've used the tap in a bathroom at work, if I ever have a sneezing fit that I need to end.
Am I missing some great benefit by not using a neti with salt water? |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| I was just told today that adding some xylitol to the water is good. My Hellerworker got the idea from a natural nasal spray she had and says it helps her avoid the dryness from regular neti. |
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| EEK!
i just neti'd, but my water was too cold...
its kinda wierd, i foresaw it happening today...
now it feels like i have a cold...
anyone got a quick fix for me, or do i just have to wait it out?
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| maybe you can just blow?
The pollen here in the mid atlantic is at record levels this year, I imagine it's getting to be that time of year for everyone else, too?
Edited by SCThornley 2006-04-27 2:10 PM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Steve - I took your idea and switched it up a bit. I used the neti pot in the shower. Very nice to have the water from the shower on the back of the neck while doing the neti. I still have a lot of discomfort of the "water up the nose sting" to the burning pain in the brain but I hope I will get better at it. I don't know what the pollen is like here but everyone I know is sniffling and sneezing  |
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| D*mn dhanurasana your new avatar is way hot! It's almost as good as mishy's
Edited by GreenJello 2006-04-27 9:27 PM
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| I was wondering if anybody knows the difference in healing effects in relation to running the water solution from nostril to nostril and running the water out the mouth. I've been running it from one nostril out the mouth for a few years. But I've never tried it the other way... |
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| The neti pot is, how I understand it, simply for cleaning.
Cleaning your body (temple) makes it a more inhabitable vessel for your spirit, and one of the aims of yoga, as I understand it, is to have a unified experience of spirit and body, of conciousness and experience, 'samadhi'.
I think of the neti pot, some of the bhandas (locks), and some of the breathing, and gazing and all of the hatha that I do as a sort of cleaning or maintanance that needs to be done to cleanse myself of daily 'pollution' in all it's forms.
Does that sound too 'weird'?
I think of the Neti Pot, rinsing with water, as a cleaning. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Hey SCT,
I do the shower thingy too. The other thing I do is put water in my hand and pretty much inhale the water into each nostril, one at a time. I block off the water at the top of my nose by pinching the top of my nostril with my forefinger and thumb, then I blow the water back out the same way it came in. This helps with that burning sensation. I don't let the water go all the way down my throat. My husband taught me how to do this procedure and he's Indian. This is just a common way of clearing out the nostril and it works great...without the expense of a neti pot and the good news is that you don't have to carry it around with you 24/7...and you don't have to add salt or anything to it. You can do this anytime, anywhere. I use plain ole' artisian well water that doesn't burn like the city water most people use.
As for pollen.....you haven't lived until you open up a beehive full of pollen...talk about getting a blast of pollen up your nose!!! It's a great way to get acclimated to it 4 sure, 
P.S. If your water has contaminates in it, it will definitely effect you...like I'm sure of D's case. Contaminates are things such as chlorine, bacteria that your body is not used to, and basically, you may have an infection of some sort that you are not aware of and that is the wrong time to be shooting water up your nostril. Pollen just aggravates the heck out of the nostril and literally blocks and causes inflammation. Try to breathe as much clear air as possible when this is happening. I literally drive to higher elevations in the countryside to clear out my nose. I know that is not possible for most people, therefore, find some fresh clean air to breathe. That in itself is the best remedy without taking pills, chemicals etc.
Edited by Cyndi 2006-04-28 10:27 AM
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| Cyndi - 2006-04-28 10:21 AM
The other thing I do is put water in my hand and pretty much inhale the water into each nostril, one at a time. I block off the water at the top of my nose by pinching the top of my nostril with my forefinger and thumb, then I blow the water back out the same way it came in. This helps with that burning sensation.
Me TOO
I just deal with the chlorine, though.
I filter my drinking and cooking water, because it's better that way, but also I can smell the chlorine come out of my pores. |
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Neti Pot Help
