We don’t notice how important breathing is until it’s blocked making it hard for us to breath. We won’t die from a blocked nose, but not being able to breath through our nose feels uncomfortable, irritating, and miserable. We can try to blow our nose until our ears explode but sometimes the mucus just doesn’t want to come out.

Nasal Sprays

Drug companies saw a huge market and swoop in to help relieve our suffering. For our temporary relief, they created nasal sprays, but according to the article Millions Suffer From Addiction to OTC Nasal Sprays, chemical nasal sprays have side-effects.

Side-effects of chemical nasal sprays:

• Contains active ingredients like Phenylephrine, Xylometazoline, or Oxymetazoline which are bad for the body
• Cause addictions
• Worsen the symptoms over time

They also made saline nasal spray, but according to Dr. Grossan’s article Nasal Saline Sprays – The Additives May Be the Problem it contain additives and preservatives that cause burning and worsen the symptoms in some of his patients. Nice try drug companies, but sometimes a good old reliable method that doesn’t cost us any money is still the best. What is this method? It is a nose wash.

Nose Wash

It is a natural and safe way to relief stuffiness. It removes mucus in our nasal cavity that is causing the congestion so we can breath freely. It allows our body the opportunity to fix the problem rather than suppressing the functions and its symptoms with medications. Over time the body may be able to fix the problems rather than being dependent on the medication.

This is a good tool to learn because it will bring great relieve during allergies, or cold and flu season, and allow our body to cure to the problem. Here’s what you need and the instructions.

Materials

Materials for nose wash

What you need: 500ml water container (I use one with a large cap so it’s easier to wash.) 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon salt Make the salt solution: Fill half the bottle with filtered water, about 250ml. Put 1/4 tsp salt into the water bottle, screw on the cap, and shake until the salt dissolves.

Instructions

Nose Wash

Nose Wash: Lean forward over the sink Tilt your head so that one nostril is above the other. Slowly pour the salt solution in the top nostril. The salt water should flow out the lower nostril. Continue for 10 seconds, then stop pouring the salt solution. Straighten your head and allow the salt water to drain from the nose, and gently blow the nose to remove the remaining water and mucus. Repeat step 1-5 for the other nostril. Continue switching between the two nostril until the nose feels clean or until you finish the salt solution.

Tips:

• It will feel strange and uncomfortable pouring water into your nose so try it when your nose is clear. There shouldn’t be any pain, but when water gets to certain areas, you will feel the same pain as breathing in water during swimming.
• Learn to do the nose wash when your nose is unblocked.
• Feel the sensation of the water flowing into the nasal cavity and down toward the throat.
• Try gently inhaling and exhaling to direct the water flowing into and out of the nose.
• Try a swallowing motion to control the water flowing down toward the throat; bring the water down toward the throat without letting it drain into the throat.
• Lean your head at different angle to feel the water draining toward the nasal cavity or the throat.
• When your nose is blocked,
• Blow your nose to remove some of the mucus first.
• Dislodging:
• Inhale to help the salt water flow into the nostril, then blow to remove the water and loosen the mucus.
• Switch to the other nostril and inhale and blow.
• Repeat until the salt water can flow into the nostril easily and drain out the other nostril. You may need switch 4 to 5 times.
• Use different lean and tilt of the head to direct the water to different areas.
• Blow your nose to remove the remaining water and mucus after the nose wash.
• When you feel a sore throat, but it feels like it’s on the top of the throat just behind the hard palate, it’s most likely in the area where the nose drains down the throat. You can use the nose wash to get the salt water down to that area to relief the soreness.
• You can buy water containers call Neti Pot designed to pour easier into the nostril. There are also formulated salt solutions for rinsing. Mouse over the pictures below for details, and click to get the product description.

References:

• http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/27323.php Millions Suffer From Addiction to OTC Nasal Sprays
• Dr. Murray Grossan, http://www.ent-consult.com/salineadditives.html Nasal Sailine Sprays – The Additives May Be the Problem, 2003