The neti pot is one of those health store contraptions that looks easy enough but causes some real confusion. If you’ve never tried it, there are a couple tips and tricks to make it easier and more pleasant. There are also a few things you should know about the neti pot and how to use it safely.

The neti pot is usually used to keep illnesses at bay and shorten the duration of sinus issues or colds. When you’re healthy, it can also help you breathe more freely and maintain health. You can find simple neti pots for cheap at drugstores or health food stores. The key to the neti pot is the saline solution and water solution which flushes allergens, dirt and other debris from the nasal passages and loosen thick mucus. You can either buy special neti pot salt or use regular table salt. Be sure to use either purified water or boiled tap water – in rare cases, unclean water could introduce nasty bacteria into the body and/or brain. There has been deaths from unclean neti pot water, so this is potentially serious. If you’re concerned, keep a jug of filtered water on hand just for neti use. It’s best to use warm water (but not too hot).

Step-By-Step Guide For Using a Neti Pot

According to Ayurveda, an ancient medical system from India, using a neti pot could be on your list of daily cleansing activities, so it’s safe to do regularly, even several times a day when you’re sick or at the beginning of allergy season.

To start, get out your neti pot and fill it with warm water and your preferred salt. In general, you want 1/4 teaspoon to 8 ounces of water. Too much or too little salt could cause a stinging sensation.

Once your supplies are ready, get into an athletic stance. Make sure you’re stable and leaned far enough over the sink to not make a mess. Place the long end of the pot into your right nostril, making sure it’s far enough in so water doesn’t spill everywhere but not too far to be uncomfortable. Now, before you tilt the pot, take a deep breathe in your mouth and as you exhale out your mouth, tilt your head far until you start feeling water enter your nostril. Try to take slow breathes using only your mouth. A nose breath and you’ll be coughing for sure. A couple seconds after the water starts, you’ll see it start dripping out of your left nostril. You’ll have to play around with the amount of head tilt versus pot tilt to find what works. If you are especially stuffy, it might take a couple seconds (along with some pressure) before you start seeing the trickle. Let the water slowly run in your right and our your left for several seconds – shorter at first until you get used to it. Then tilt your head back upright, remove the pot from the nostril and let any excess salt water run out. Then insert the pot into the left, tilting the head to the right and doing the same thing on this side. I normally alternate back and forth until all the water is gone. (If you need a visual, this video is pretty good.)

Once the water is gone, set the neti pot aside and find a towel to clean up any leftover water on your face. This could be a bit messy, especially when first staring out. Then, use a tissue and gently blow your nose to remove excess water and any loosened mucus. This could take a bit. There are some crevices in the nasal passages that could hold onto water, only to drip out when you take a different position, so if you are worried about that, take your time and move your head in different directions to get the last of the water. Finally, and this is very important, lubricate the nostrils. Salt water, although great for flushing and removing unwanted stuff, is also very drying. It’s best to use nasya oil to reintroduce moisture into the passages. The traditional way to use nasya is to lie on your back with your head leaning off, say, the side of your bed. This way you can drop a couple drops of oil directly into the nostrils at an angle where none will drip out. Hold your right side shut as you drop nasya oil into the left and inhale quickly to sort of snort the oil up. Repeat on the right side and use a tissue to clean up any oil that dribbles out. Alternatively you can drop some oil on a clean finger and quickly run the oiled finger around the nostril and then hold the opposite nostril shut and snort. This is a bit more user friendly.

There you have it. You did it! The first couple times you try neti pot, it might be uncomfortable. If you have a lot of blockage, you might feel some pressure and if the salt water ratio or water temperature isn’t quite right, you might feel a little stinging. If you’re serious about giving this a try, especially if you have chronic respiratory illnesses, stick with it. It gets easier and less awkward – I promise!

Now it’s your turn. Do you use a neti pot? What other tips and tricks can you share?

{Photo Credit: dennis}