Tawdry Talk

Start out with 2 cups of warm water and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. This proportion of salt to water will match your body’s natural salinity, and is called an isotonic solution.

It’s very important that you use a non-iodized salt. Iodine, while important for our diets, is not so good for our nasal passages and will irritate them.

Here’s my neti pot, while my roommate, Plumpy, who took most of these pictures, looks on.

Fill the pot with the warm water.

Place the spout of the neti pot against the nostril. Notice how the spout of the pot and the pathway of my nostril are aligned. It’s important to do this so the flow of the water is free and easy.

Be careful not to push the spout in toward the septum of the nose, or the water will not flow freely.

Let the water pour into the nostril and flow out the other nostril. While this is happening, breathe gently through the mouth. It’s important to find the proper angle for this. Everyone will vary slightly.

You do not want the water to flow down into the back of the throat at this stage. Rather, let it flow in one nostril and out the other. It looks strange but it feels really good!

When you have emptied the pot through one nostril, refill it and repeat the process through the other nostril.

You may notice dried or wet mucus, soot or other foreign objects as the water flows from your nose. Do not be alarmed, but be happy! You are cleaning your nasal passages and will feel better.

If you have a small neti pot like mine, you will have to repeat the process a few times with each nostril. Repeat the cleaning process, alternating nostrils, until you have used up the entire batch of salty water.

After you have completed the cleaning of your nasal passages, it’s important to dry your nose out. The best way to do this is to lean forward and gently, and I do mean gently, exhale through your nose. If you exhale too vigorously, you can push the water up into your eustuchian tubes or sinus cavities, which is unpleasant, to say the least.

If you have allergies or work in a dusty or sooty environment, the use of a neti pot can help you breathe more freely. You may notice that your senses of smell and taste improve, that you suffer from fewer sinus headaches and stuffiness, that the duration of colds is shortened. You will definitely feel more clearheaded, both physically and mentally.