I'm calling it a power wash, because the product cleaned out my sinus so well!

Being a cpap user for two decades, the little Ocean saline spray bottle was my go to item. It worked occasionally.

After two days of not breathing well due to a mild cold or allergies, caused poor sleep. Cpap doesn't work well when your stuffed up. I needed relief. A trip to Walgreens became urgent.

The price of that Ocean bottle went up & I disliked using so much plastic waste.
Right next to those bottles was a reusable bottle with saline packets. It was 2x the cost of the little ocean one, but with 30 packets, that's a lot of uses.

Grabbed more distilled water as I wouldn't trust my city's water for such a purpose.

It was weird to me experience, but I followed the easy directions. There was a bit of pressure on the eardrums, but WOW! One side opened up immediately and about 10 minutes after using, the other side opened. Best results ever. The Ocean spray never worked this well.

Since it is a squeeze bottle, it is like a power wash.

https://www.walgreens.com/stor...=prod6363069-product

I tried a Neti pot briefly and the squeeze bottle for a while also. I've had the best luck with the Navage unit. It is somewhat cumbersome to use and there is a learning curve, but it has produced the best results.

I also use small pump from a previous prescription med throughout the day that is filled with a saline solution. It produces a fine mist that seems to penetrate into the sinuses. You're right about using distilled water, there are horror stories about fatal infections from critters in municipal or well water.

Using Neil Med daily has been a life changer for me.
I mix my own solution by mixing a gallon of distilled water with 2 tablespoons of non iodized salt and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Pull a cup or so out and mix with the water bringing it to a boil in the microwave. Add it back to the gallon.
Be careful to get the Neil Med bottle clean daily as you use it. I use them much longer than the recommended 3 months.
Do NOT use city or well water as there are some nasties that can really mess you up.
Make sure to get the daily dose to "body temp" in the microwave. About 30 seconds on mine. If you use the little packets instead make sure you don't forget them. Cool water and non medicated water up the nose is NOT a pleasant experience.

When I first used the squeeze bottle, I went to hard and nearly blew out my ear drums. I didn't like that so much. I switched to the Navage Power wash and it's been so much better. Like other said it takes a little something to learn but after a week it was like a dream. Make sure to fill with warm water.
https://www.samsclub.com/p/nav...16de26fd9146a782fe89

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Do NOT use city or well water as there are some nasties that can really mess you up.

If you boil the water, won't it take care of that?

My preference is the pressurized saline solution such as that made and marketed by Arm and Hammer. My personal experience is “stay away from the saline with eucalyptus,” that burns. Hard to beat a steady stream for flushing sinuses, and I find it preferable to a neti.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Do NOT use city or well water as there are some nasties that can really mess you up.

If you boil the water, won't it take care of that?

Boiling kills amoebas, which will basically eat your brain. Boiling will not neutralize prions, which have apparently been found in the city water in places where chronic wasting disease effects some of the local wildlife. If you have really good city water and a home reverse osmosis setup, you might be fine, but I figure a few cents a day worth of distilled water is a cost I'm fine paying for now to ensure my brain doesn't get eaten.

I've done what Powers77 does since last fall, with the exception of pre-mixing the gallon. I dunno why I didn't think of that, but going forward, I will. I have it dialed down to just the right amount of baking soda and salt per Nielmed bottle, and it has been a life changer. I had a sinus infection that basically never went away from March of 2023 to October of 2024. Finally managed to get in with an ENT, and now it's twice daily sinus rinse and Azelastine. I haven't had near as many problems.

I managed to miss two days of not rinsing over the weekened, the desert bloomed, and bang, instant sinus and ear infection. Just started on the Augmentin and I have a consult with the ENT Monday afternoon for sinus surgery. It's always the left sinus. That's gotta change.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Hard to beat a steady stream for flushing sinuses, and I find it preferable to a neti.

That's what I used to do and never got as good of results. The squirt bottle was really unpleasant until I got used to it. Now nose douching doesn't bother me any.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Do NOT use city or well water as there are some nasties that can really mess you up.

If you boil the water, won't it take care of that?

My doctor says distilled only. I know from time in the 3rd world, that distilled is preferred over boiling. Boiling may or may not work, but better safe than sorry.

quote:

Originally posted by NOCkid:
I tried a Neti pot briefly and the squeeze bottle for a while also. I've had the best luck with the Navage unit.

I have become a big believer in the Neti Pot over the last 18 months or so. Navage may be better, but I didn't go that route because it seemed like more to clean and take of. What is your experience with care and cleaning?


.

quote:

Originally posted by TigerDore:
Navage may be better, but I didn't go that route because it seemed like more to clean and take of. What is your experience with care and cleaning?

.

The care and cleaning is almost non existant. You pour out the "dirty tank" rinse it out a little, then rinse the clean tank out and call it good. Takes less than 30 seconds. I let mine air dry.

I have to admit that I don't totally follow the care and cleaning instructions, they may have changed over time, mine is several years old.

I remove the nose piece, rinse the lower chamber, and let the components dry on the countertop caddy. My unit did not include the nose piece scrubber, so I've not tried it.

I have not used any non-sterile water to cleanse the upper chamber so as to avoid introducing pathogens mentioned above, I may be off base on this, but I haven't encountered any problems.

Garden hose.

Cleaned my sinuses, one or three times, when I was a little kid...

What's old is new again.

Always interesting to see old methods get revisited and rediscovered, perhaps with some modern updates.

I have used and like Xlear for the occasional stuffiness. However, 95% percent of nasal/sinus issues have gone away with a clean ketovore lifestyle.

https://a.co/d/b16cS1p

I've used both the Neti pot as well as something like the squeeze bottle mentioned. The Neti pot, when used from both sides, has provided a lot of relief during times of allergies or congestion. You just need to know how to close off the back of your throat so that the solution stays in the nasal cavities, not down the throat.

Much smaller to use and carry than the Navage unit - and that unit only processes solution one way, not both. Tilting your head while using a pot allows you to get pretty good rinse coverage.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffxjet:
The care and cleaning is almost non existant. You pour out the "dirty tank" rinse it out a little, then rinse the clean tank out and call it good. Takes less than 30 seconds. I let mine air dry.

Thanks, jeffxjet!


.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Do NOT use city or well water as there are some nasties that can really mess you up.

If you boil the water, won't it take care of that?

I should have been clearer. Yes if boiled which I do when I don't have distilled handy.

Just read some of the other follow ups and will be sticking with distilled going forward.

As a hosehead I know the problems. You wanna know what really works good for me. Every time I get a little stopped up, wasabi or some really strong horseradish or Chinese mustard. Really gets the snot flowing. I have used saline but am always sort of spooked about all the brain eating amoebas and prion stories.

Neil med here for me.

I noticed that Wal Mart offers two distilled water options.

One is in the beverage aisle,
The other is in the baby food isle.

The one in the baby food isle has a disclaimer on the label stating " Not Sterile"

The distilled water in the beverage aisle makes no claims either way.

The baby isle water is always 7 cents cheaper, per gallon.

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Using Neil Med daily has been a life changer for me.
I mix my own solution by mixing a gallon of distilled water with 2 tablespoons of non iodized salt and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Pull a cup or so out and mix with the water bringing it to a boil in the microwave. Add it back to the gallon.

I found this interesting.

From the Internet search I performed, I found the recommended ratio of salt to soda to be typically 3:1. You're using 1:1. I found the ratio of the mixture to water to be typically about 1 tsp mixture to 8 oz of water, or proportionately, 16 tsp (5 1/3 tbsp) to 1 gallon. You're using 4 tablespoons. You found a recipe that feels good to your nose--I can't dispute that.

If I were to do this, I'd make the big batch of the dry ingredients at 3:1, not the big 1 gal batch of the solution. Then I'd fine tune how much to add to 8 oz, starting with 1 tsp, to see what my nose likes best.

quote:

Originally posted by Keystoner:

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Using Neil Med daily has been a life changer for me.
I mix my own solution by mixing a gallon of distilled water with 2 tablespoons of non iodized salt and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Pull a cup or so out and mix with the water bringing it to a boil in the microwave. Add it back to the gallon.

I found this interesting.

From the Internet search I performed, I found the recommended ratio of salt to soda to be typically 3:1. You're using 1:1. I found the ratio of the mixture to water to be typically about 1 tsp mixture to 8 oz of water, or proportionately, 16 tsp (5 1/3 tbsp) to 1 gallon. You're using 4 tablespoons. You found a recipe that feels good to your nose--I can't dispute that.

If I were to do this, I'd make the big batch of the dry ingredients at 3:1, not the big 1 gal batch of the solution. Then I'd fine tune how much to add to 8 oz, starting with 1 tsp, to see what my nose likes best.

I had backed into the ratio math wise from a recipe I found on the internet several years ago. Seems to work fine comfortwise for me so I continue it. Can't tell any difference from the prepackaged packets that I still use when I travel.