My Life Saver

Spring is officially here but what irritates the heck out of lots of folks is seasonal allergies.  Ugh, are they public enemy #1 or what?  Talk about your daily life and planned activities ruined because of the constant sneezing, stuffy nose, coughing, itchy and watery eyes and major pain in-the-you-know-what headache.

This was my life for quite some time until November 2008 when I finally caved in and decided to give the neti pot a try.  I was miserable and desperate and just couldn't take it anymore.  It was the day before Thanksgiving when I was very sick with allergies and there I was on the couch trying to nurse my 10 month old daughter.  I kept interrupting her feeding because I couldn't breathe, I had to clear my nose, cough, tilt my head back, cry, whine, beg for mercy, etc.  Of course we were both miserable and crying.  I  because of the allergies and her because of me pulling her away every couple of minutes.  I had had enough and my husband and I packed up the kids and went to the store to buy the neti pot.

My husband's aunt told me about the net pot months before but I wouldn't dare give it a try.  Are you kidding me?  Pouring water down, up and down again through my nostrils and have it all come out on the other side?  What?!  No way was I going to attempt that and "drown" my brain.  Yes, that sounds stupid silly but I really imagined all that water going into my brain and drowning me.  I know, I know.  I never wanted to give the neti pot a fair chance because of the fear and gross factor.  I already told ya about the fear but the thought of "stuff" coming out and into the sink?  Eeeewww!

So on that night after being so miserable and being extremely uncomfortable I bit the bullet and bought that stinkin' neti pot.  OH MY GOODNESS ALLELUIA, WHY WAS I SUCH A STUBBORN WOMAN?!  That was the best feeling to have all that misery flush out of my face.  I couldn't believe how much better I felt after just one use and I was able to get a decent nights sleep.  Wow.  It worked, it really worked and it involved zero meds.  Even better!  Oh I was embarrassed for being such a hard head before and being dead set on having meds take care of the problem.  Now, I know there are folks out there that truly needs meds on a daily or weekly basis for various allergy issues but this little thing did it for me and I am grateful.

I now use my trusty 'ol neti pot once a week or more if stuff is really blowing around in the air. I am for the most part allergy free and no longer call in sick or call in to say I am going to be a couple of hours late because I woke up stuffy, headachy, coughing my brains out and sleep deprived.  Trust me, this little thing works and I promise when I say your head will not fill up with water.  :)
Just follow the directions and after a few tries you'll have a down.  Oh and if your tap water is iffy then please use  boiled water that has cooled down to a luke warm temperature.  Remember, this is going in your nasal passages so you don't want it to burn.  It will also burn if the water is too cool.  I speak from experience!

I used the saline packets that came with the neti pot but I now use the sinus wash salt sold in a jar by Walgreens.  I bought it on sale with a store coupon.  Of course! :)

Anyone else loyal to the neti pot?  You can read more about the neti pot I bought here.