What is up With My Neti Pot?!

[sparrow13]

This is totally random but all of a sudden I can't use my neti pot! It absolutely burns the inside of my nose until I gag and cough and my eyes water. I've never had this problem before. I've tried different salt, no salt, different water temps -----> same thing. It's really frustrating because I have terrible allergies and the pot has really been helping.

Any thoughts??

 

[coloradomama]

That's weird...I was just going to ask if you were forgetting to put the salt in. Maybe the membranes in your nose are super sensitive right now? I hope you get it figured out because a neti pot is invaluable for allergies!

 

[Jennifit]

Is your water warm? If I use cold water my nose really burns badly...

 

[Gayle]

Is the salt all mixed in? I actually have to stir my salt and water in a different container first.

 

[marnold]

Ditto what Gayle said. That has happened to me before. OUCHIE!

 

[Boingo1]

Are you really stuffed up? (and it's not flowing as easy?) Do you use it a LOT? (maybe you need to back off on it a little). Definitely, I always use warmed water, cold does bother me more.

 

[sparrow13]

Thanks All! I'm going to make sure I mix the salt well, I definitely may have been slacking in that department.

I do use warm water, and use it a few times a week. If the better salt mixing doesn't work I'm going to chalk it up to my nasal passages being inflamed for some reason and not use the pot for a bit. Which would be a bummer!

 

[Boingo1]

Now that I've thought about it some more, I do remember intense burning , eye watering in the past. And I think it did have to do with my nasal passages being irritated. Maybe just wait a day or 2. Also , maybe not use the salt, and just use warm water and see if it happens.

 

[Liann]

Sparrow - I have had it burn like that before when I didn't realize that my nasal passages were irritated. Burned like the dickens. I waited a few days though and I was fine the next time. I try not to use it too much. Actually, I stopped using it for a while because (TMI warning) one time I was so congested that a lot of the water got stuck up there somewhere and didn't come out. I didn't know about that though. I went to work the next day and was sitting at my desk and I leaned down to put something in the trashcan and all this water came gushing out of my nose. NICE... I do not use it when I am really congested like that anymore!

 

[NRG Woman]

I have a couple of ideas for you. I have been using a bulb to irrigate my nose for 24 years so I have a lot of experience with this issue. The two things that come to mind first are the type of salt and the type of water you use. If you are using tap water you need to be aware that most tap water is treated with chlorine to decontaminate it. So rinsing your nose with tap water is like getting pool water up your nose which tends to sting like a dickens. I am allergic to chlorine so I always use filtered water to rinse my nose (I heat it in the microwave). When I switched to filtered water the stinging decreased quite a bit. Also are you using regular table salt? The iodine in iodized salt is an irritant to nasal passages. I use non-iodized sea salt to rinse my nose. It doesn't have to be sea salt as long as it is not iodized. These are two quick and easy fixes that may make a world of difference.

Good luck,

Shayne

 

[kathryn]

I think Shayne may have come up with the solution (non-iodized salt and non-chlorine water).

Also, at the pharmacy, you can pick up salt packs for this that contain non-iodized salt (a must) and baking soda (to buffer the solution). That might help. (it would be easy to make on ones own, but I'm not sure of the proportion of salt to baking soda).