Topic: Nasal wash/rince to alleviate allergy symptoms?

[Obsequious]

I'm not talking about that neli pot business, but something else. I don't know too much about it, but a friend of mine is really eager to have me give it a try, because my allergies have been just awful over the last few days.

Is there any evidence that any kind of nasal rinsing or washing can actually help me with my allergies, or is it just a bunch of nonsense?

[Chew]

There is some evidence for it. Try PubMed.

Also don't use water right out of the tap: Neti pots and the brain eating amoeba

[Trinoc]

My ENT specialist has recommended this. You should boil the water and allow it to cool before use, and add salt, about 0.9% by weight for "normal" saline up to about 2.7% to clear serious congestion. Some sources suggest using rock salt since it generally doesn't contain additives, but I don't know whether this is well-founded or just a case of the usual "all additives are bad" assumption. I find that rinsing with non-saline water causes an instant headache.

Full rinsing too often can leave the sinuses too clean. I find spraying saline from a re-used decongestant inhaler bottle is enough most of the time.

[Halleyscomet/Wakefield]

My ENT specialist has recommended this. You should boil the water and allow it to cool before use, and add salt, about 0.9% by weight for "normal" saline up to about 2.7% to clear serious congestion. Some sources suggest using rock salt since it generally doesn't contain additives, but I don't know whether this is well-founded or just a case of the usual "all additives are bad" assumption. I find that rinsing with non-saline water causes an instant headache.

Full rinsing too often can leave the sinuses too clean. I find spraying saline from a re-used decongestant inhaler bottle is enough most of the time.

Rock salt will also contain random minerals from whatever it came from, which may or may not be inert in your sinuses. It's not even food grade. Rock salt is typically used for de-icing because it has contaminates that make it unsuitable for eating. It's f***ing stupid to squirt rock salt up your nose.

http://www.foodsubs.com/Salt.html

There are plenty of options if you want a salt devoid of iodine and anti-caking agents, rock salt is NOT one of them.

[Jeremy's Sea]

I am not an allergy sufferer, but I do occasionally use a neti pot to alleviate general congestion (I do live in LA and the air quality ain't great). It really does help me and I do boil tap water, you could also use distilled water. I have heard a lot of anecdotes from others that it helps them with allergies and it does help me with the symptoms of head colds. I'd be curious to hear your experience if you try it (my wife suffers from allergies and won't do anything about it, except complain of course).

[khendar]

Warning: The use of a Neti Pot with tap water may infect you with a parasitic amoeba which will cause you to fall in love with a Real Doll.

http://calitreview.com/25661

[Trinoc]

Rock salt will also contain random minerals from whatever it came from, which may or may not be inert in your sinuses. It's not even food grade. Rock salt is typically used for de-icing because it has contaminates that make it unsuitable for eating. It's f***ing stupid to squirt rock salt up your nose.

I was of course referring to rock salt which is sold as suitable for food use, not the stuff I put on the path to de-ice it in winter.

[David E.]

I use the Neti Pot for allergies and when I have a head cold. 

[Halleyscomet/Wakefield]

Rock salt will also contain random minerals from whatever it came from, which may or may not be inert in your sinuses. It's not even food grade. Rock salt is typically used for de-icing because it has contaminates that make it unsuitable for eating. It's f***ing stupid to squirt rock salt up your nose.

I was of course referring to rock salt which is sold as suitable for food use, not the stuff I put on the path to de-ice it in winter.

Well that's a horse of a different color.

[ConditionOfMan]

I'll chime in with my anecdotal evidence for the usefulness of nasal saline lavage. Instead of using a neti pot, I use a small plastic water bottle with a sports valve. It sure does feel good when that warm salt water runs through my sinuses and I can usually breath through my nose more easily an hour or so after. :-)

Edit: Also, if I've been having sneezing fits, this will mitigate them for about 24 hours. YMMV.

[Obsequious]

Thanks for the feedback and info, people! I may give this a try.

[Obsequious]

I tried my friend's nasal wash on Monday. I'd been suffering terrible allergies on Monday, and the nasal wash didn't help me at all. My friend wanted to believe it had helped because I seemed to be breathing easier when I left her home, but within just a few minutes, I was suffering again.

If anything, I suspect the nasal wash made my symptoms worse by irritating my nasal passages and sinuses. They were never meant to have pressurized water irrigating its way through them, after all.

[GodSlayer]

Warning: The use of a Neti Pot with tap water may infect you with a parasitic amoeba which will cause you to fall in love with a Real Doll.

http://calitreview.com/25661

first thing that came to mind when I saw this thread.

[GodSlayer]

does it work any less to just snort the water from a glass instead of all this fancy head tilting nozzle inserting business?

[GodSlayer]

I tried my friend's nasal wash on Monday. I'd been suffering terrible allergies on Monday, and the nasal wash didn't help me at all. My friend wanted to believe it had helped because I seemed to be breathing easier when I left her home, but within just a few minutes, I was suffering again.

If anything, I suspect the nasal wash made my symptoms worse by irritating my nasal passages and sinuses. They were never meant to have pressurized water irrigating its way through them, after all.

I've got this Beclometasone Dipropionate spray that works for me.
has quite a pollen'y smell to it, but helps me whenever I'm sneezing incessantly or my nose is running like crazy for no apparent reason.