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neti pot nonmedication congestion relief
Neti pot is a nonmedication congestion relief that has been around for centuries. The only thing that has changed is that instead of ceramic pots, we now have plastic pots. I love this thing because it is so simple and it works. Helps with sinus congestion, colds, allergies, and just plain postnasal drip. Dr. Oz and Oprah have both highlighted the neti pot on their respective shows. Now, as a nurse practitioner, I prescribe a lot of medications that I never have used or tried. The neti pot is an exception in that I use it whenever I get ill and up to twice a day during my worst allergy season. Because of this, I have completely stopped having to take antihistamines.
How does the Neti Pot work?
Why does this work? Basically, you are taking a salt solution and rinsing your nose out. The rinse removes mucous, allergens, and other microbes that are irritating your nasal passages and causing your symptoms. You can buy a Neti Pot at Amazon, Walgreen’s, or Walmart for about 10-20 dollars. Neti pot is the most common brand name, but there are many other variations, to include the Yeti pot. I have tried the squeeze bottle version, but I must admit I did not like using it so I went back to the tea kettle version. I think the squeeze bottle caused too much pressure and I found it uncomfortable.
How to use the Neti Pot
To do this you need the tea kettle looking device you see in the picture above. You put comfortably warm distilled water inside with a salt packet. The salt packets sold are measured for the correct amount of salt and do not contain iodine. You tilt your head at a 45 degree angle and place the spout in the upper nostril and the water runs out the lower nostril. Then you just switch sides blowing your nose after the rinse.
Some people are sensitive to the salt and may need to decrease the amount of salt in the solution. A very minuscule number of people get nosebleeds from this. It does take some getting used to, but it is worth the effort. If you want to read more on the subject you can go to WebMD which has a pretty good article on this. I think this is great for somebody who is pregnant because there are no medications involved which could potentially affect your baby.
It you would like to get a neti pot you can purchase them online from Walmart, Walgreen’s, or Amazon. Once you have the neti pot you just have to buy the salt packets for resupply.
Asthma and Magnesium
A lot of asthmatics have episodes that are triggered by allergies. The neti pot helps because it keeps the allergens in you nose flushed out. It has also been found that asthmatics can have low levels of magnesium and vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 should always be taken with Vitamin K2. You can read more about Vitamin D here. Magnesium is a bronchodilator. We use that in the ER when someones comes in with an asthma attack and nothing is working. I recommend everyone supplement with at least 500 mg of magnesium on a daily basis. Doctor John Myers in Maryland used to treat his asthma patients with a Myers Vitamin IV infusion. This infusion has 1000 mg of magnesium in it. For asthma patients, I up the dose to 2000 mg of magnesium.
As usual, if you are concerned that you a more serious condition give Loveland Medical Clinic a call and one of our mobile medics will come to see you.
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