Neti Pots Are Nasalicious

The song “Lollipop” is ringing in my head, but instead of the word “lollipop,” it’s “Neti pot, neti pot, neti pot…”  I’m not sure how many of you, if any of you, use a neti pot.  It sounds kinda gross, but isn’t so bad.  Jala Neti is the official term for this nasal irrigation technique.  You take this little “genie” lantern looking pot and fill it with a salt water solution (you can buy kits, little tubs of special salt, or you can make your own solution).  Then you take the neti pot filled with warm salt water and shove it in a nostril.  Next you tilt your head and pour.  Water should start coming out the other side. 

So here’s the story.  My wife is into yoga and has been thinking about getting a neti pot for a long time.  She’s seen it on TV and from her yoga instructor.  She has sinus and allergy issues, so she figures that this can’t hurt, right?  The warm water flows into your sinuses and flushes them.  Ahh – you can breathe clearer.  She finally bought a neti pot about two months ago.  To be honest, it has intrigued me, yet kinda scared me at the same time.  At first, she struggled a little bit.  If the water doesn’t flow as planned, it can kinda make you feel like you’re being drowned (or waterboarded from the US government).  Who doesn’t like that drowning sensation, right?  She gets the process down after a while and is using the pot regularly each night and she feels great after.

I finally break down and think about the line from Risky Business where the then some-what-normal Tom Cruise says the line, “sometimes you just have to say ‘what the f..k’.”  So I say, “WTF!”  Let’s do this thing.  I get everything out and shout out the bathroom door to my wife, “how much salt do I put in this thing?”  I put in the required one tiny scoop and fill the magical lantern with warm water.  In my mind, I’m thinking that I’m going to start choking and semi-drown while my wife is in the next room laughing at my failure.  It’s go time.  I tilt my head and start to pour.  I can feel the water percolate throughout my nasal cavity and slightly drip saline in my throat and then all of a sudden water is freely flowing out my other nostril.  It’s fantastic.  I must have the magic touch or just be lucky because I stepped up to the plate and hit a home run.  I do the other side with the same ease, just staring in the mirror as the water flows like a Japanese water feature. 

I recommend giving it a try.  It’s really not that bad and you feel great afterwards.