serious question-anyone proficient with a neti pot?

[w8liftinglady]

My son has terrible sinus problems,and I heard rave reviews about neti pots.I can't seem to get it to flow properly,and it goes down the back of his throat-despite repositioning his head.Any suggestions?

[tammywammy]

1. Your head should be forward and turned to the side

If it's going down his throat he's not leaned forward enough.

[NewJeffCT]

2. What the poster above said

Plus, I find that if I blow my nose first, it will help the flow of the water. Sometimes chewing gum for a while beforehand helps me out as well. Also not directly related to the neti pot is holding your nose & blowing to pop your ears. An ENT specialist recommended that to me several years back.

[geardaddy]

3. I've used one with mixed results.

But I know they work for some people.

[IcyPeas]

4. you tube has some videos

sorry, here at work I can't access it to give you a link, but Youtube has videos of how to use these properly. I have terrible sinus problems at certain times of the year and use a NeilMed sinus thing.

[foxfeet]

5. Is your son able to use it for himself?

It might be easier if he does, because he could get the feel of the solution and change his head position accordingly. Administering a neti pot to another person must be like flying blind--you have no sensory input to guide you. I have had great results with a neti pot and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. The main thing is to persevere. It often takes several tries to get the technique.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

6. One of the nostrils needs to be directly on top of the other one

You need to orient your head so that, rather than the nostrils being next to each other in a right/left fashion, the nostrils are in a top/bottom line up. This makes it much easier for the water to flow through.

Also, you want to make sure you don't burn yourself, but the water flows better if it is warmer.

It took me several tries before I finally got the hang of it. And I still have issues sometimes if I'm having bad allergies or am a bit stuffed up. Definitely helps to blow your nose first, maybe try doing it after a warm shower; that seems to help loosen the mucus up a bit.

[catzies]

7. Two good suggestions in this thread: One, look for the youtube videos, second

if your son is old enough, let him try it himself.

I have a neti pot and used it during cold & flu season because fortunately I am not an allergy sufferer.

[Arkansas Granny]

8. Link to the youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsZeILCedRw

[struggle4progress]

9. Just sniffing salt water and spitting it out works well for me

About a cup of hot water. Enough salt so that it feels reasonably natural sniffed -- probably somewhere around a teaspoon. Don't sniff it until it's a comfortable temperature

*snork*
*spit*
*snork*
*spit*

I'll seldom get through more than a third or a half of the cup at one time. I generally do this until I'm sick of it, take a break for an hour or two, then try it again. I usually start this when serious drippage begins, before everything clogs up; the salty water has a soothing and drying effect. But can eventually remove clogs if necessary: a alternating combination of snorking and very very gentle blowing of the nose may sometimes be required

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my neti pot! It has helped tremendously with sinus issues

and allergies.

Not sure why it isn't flowing through the sinuses, though.

Are you doing it correctly? Tilt the head and put it forward a little bit, but keep it in parallel to the plane created by the shoulders and feet - that is, don't tip the head forward or backward.

Put the pot in the nostril that is pointing up, and pour gently.

The only thing I can think of is that the nostril that the water should be coming out of is entirely plugged, and the water can't get through, or you're trying to dump the water through at too great a flow rate.

Remember from your fluid dynamics class that Q1V1 = Q2V2, and if there isn't enough room to shove the water at V2, it'll find a new path to handle the Q2 overflow.

[w8liftinglady]

11. thanks for all your input-it worked tonight

I used afrin beforehand-his sinuses were that inflamed,and had him hold his head down more...worked great and he feels a lot better....