Make Your Own Neti Pot – Sinus Infections Be Gone!

The city of Philadelphia ranks twelfth in metropolitan areas with the worst ozone air pollution.

So I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me when, shortly after moving here from the relatively clean Midwest in 1983, I began experiencing a series of upper respiratory ailments.

Things like strep throat, bronchitis, ear infections, sinus infections and pneumonia, which I had never even had as a child, occurred with enough regularity that I was treated with antibiotics at least once a year for over ten years.

It wasn’t until I was hospitalized for nearly a week about four years ago with severe gastroenteritis that I began to question all that antibiotic use.  Just prior to becoming ill with the stomach ailment I had been treated, yet again, for yet another sinus infection with yet another antibiotic.

Apparently this time the antibiotics did a number on my intestinal tract.  While I was fairly savvy about supplementing my diet with vitamins, I was unaware that antibiotics kill off the “good flora” in body, causing various biological systems to not work properly.

As a result I suffered with diarrhea for over three weeks before entering the hospital, and lost over twenty pounds.

Through trial and error (rather than a doctor’s intervention), I healed my body and now only suffer a rare recurrence of the gastroenteritis.  When I do, I am able to address it quickly with the use of a strong probiotic treatment.

Unfortunately, though, I still do reside in Philadelphia, which means I still can’t get a decent breath of fresh air and still do suffer the occasional sinus infection.

What’s a healthy, enlightened soul to do?

Well, I have developed what I refer to as “Pam’s secret cocktail.”  It includes a capsule of oregano oil mixed with olive leaf, 1-2 1,000 mg vitamin C capsules, 1 capsule of zinc and 1 capsule of garlic.

I take it before bed and, while I might occasionally smell like a pizza, this supplement cocktail seems to help ward off the sinus infections and colds.

Another discovery?  The Neti pot!

Neti is the practice of nasal cleansing and it has been used by practitioners of Ayurveda and Yoga in India for thousands of years. Alternative health practitioners throughout the world recommend the regular practice of nasal cleansing using a saline solution as part of a regular regimen of health and wellness, a basic health-maintenance activity equal to flossing your teeth. Neti is a gentle, safe, efficient way to deliver a good cleansing dose of saline to the nose.

After reading about the benefits of Neti, I decided to try it.  Alas, my local Whole Foods was selling Neti pots for around $20 a pop (not to mention the “Neti pot solution”) so I decided to see what I could come up with at home.

Would you believe that you don’t have to spend the money for a Neti pot or the “Neti pot solution?”

Make your own solution at home and save your money… get some baking soda and salt. 1/4 tsp of each (I actually use a bit more salt than that) mixed with 8 oz. of warm water, put in an empty and well-washed dishwashing soap bottle, and viola!  Your own homemade Neti pot.

In one nostril, out the other.

Never suffer another sinus infection!

To your good health …

3 Responses to “Make Your Own Neti Pot – Sinus Infections Be Gone!”

1. Vikki Baptiste says:

   November 26, 2009 at 10:41 am

   I use one of those “nose cleaner bulbs” they give you when you give birth. I knew that I kept it for 10 years for a reason! LOL!

   I think that they are also really inexpensive if you buy them at stores like Walgreens or CVS.
2. Pambie says:

   November 26, 2009 at 12:39 pm

   Those are nice for a dose of saline – but to truly irrigate the nasal passages, you need something that can hold more water.
3. yin yoga says:

   January 8, 2010 at 2:04 am

   good post to read!!!