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

I never doubted that manufacturers would try their best to give us good safe products at a reasonable price. They spend so much time and energy to make the products and to make their brands stand out, so I didn’t think twice about using the products.

Several years ago, I was a voracious enthusiast of alternative therapy, which just means that I wanted to understand what I needed to do to keep my body healthy without resorting to pills and medicines. Knowing this, my sister-in-law gave me a little book called Cancer-Causing Chemicals in Cosmetics & Daily Use Products (1). It showed a list of cancer causing ingredients that manufacturers put into our daily used products like soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, lotions, deodorants, etc. I checked the list against some of products that I used each day and sure enough, they are full of cancer-causing and possibly cancer-causing ingredients. My delusion was broken. Most manufacturers wants to give us reasonably priced and effective products, but could care less about the ingredients being slowly absorbed through our skin into our bodies and eventually causing painful diseases. Thanks a lot!

I have reformatted the list from the book so it’s easier to read and find the ingredients. I print the table and keep it in my wallet to check against the products I plan to buy. It’s amazing to see how many products contain these ingredients. It’s best to avoid products that have too many of these ingredients; it’s a potentially high risk disease-causing problem that can be prevented if we choose wisely. Print it out and compare for yourself the next time you go shopping.

Reference:
1. Consumer’s Association of Penang, Cancer-Causing Chemicals in Cosmetics & Daily Use Products, Penang: Consumers’ Association of Penang, 2000

The alarm rang and I sleepily opened my eyes. They felt sticky as if something glued them together. I blinked a few times and felt debris shifting under my eyelids. I could see, but through patches of shifting blurs as the debris moved. I rubbed my eyes and tears flowed forcing most of the stickiness out the edges of the eyes. I got up and open my eyes and the blurriness was gone. In the restroom, I pour salt water into the goggle, bent forward, placed it on my eye and blinked thirty times. I lowered the goggle and saw white things floating in the salt water. I repeated for the same eye and switched to clean the other eye. Even though my eyes felt clean after tearing and rubbing, I’m surprise to see how much debris get collected in the water after the wash.

I like to wash my eyes in the morning to help clear the debris from my eyes.

Materials
Eyewash - Materials for eyewash	What you need: 1. Swimming goggles (I use one side) 2. 500ml water container (I use one with a large cap so it’s easier to wash.) 3. 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon 4. salt Make the salt solution: - Fill the water bottle with filtered water. - Put 1/2 tsp salt into the water bottle, screw on the cap, and shake until the salt dissolves.

Instructions
Eyewash - Use goggle to cup eye	Washing your eyes: 1. Fill the goggle with the salt solution. 2. Cup the left eye with the goggle, blink 20-30 times, and dump the water. Repeat once more for the same eye. 3. Repeat step 2 for the right eye.

It’s quick and simple. But, in order to do it regularly, I make it a part of your daily routine.

I do this by putting the goggle and the salt solution next to my toothbrush. After showering which helps to remove the moisturizing cream from my face, I do my eye wash. Then I brush my teeth. By sandwiching the eyewash between the daily routine, it can quickly become a part of my daily routine.

Doing an eye wash is refreshing and a good method for clean out my eyes.

Note and Tips
1. If you put on moisturizing or night cream on your face, wash it off before you wash your eyes. The moisturizer may sting your eyes.
2. Keep the goggles and salt water solution clean. Wash the goggle thoroughly after each use. Wash the solution container at each refill.
3. Check the water in the goggle after each washing, I’m always surprise by how much debris is in the water even though I may not feel it in my eyes. Sometimes a thin layer of oil sits on top of the water in goggle.

Recently I scratched my gum with the back of the toothbrush as I was brushing my teeth. I didn’t bothered with it, and by that evening the scratched area was painful, a bit swollen, and my tooth ached. The area was tender when I brushed my teeth.

Having had good result with alcohol for other mouth problems, I tried using some vodka.

I used a teaspoon of vodka and swooshed it over the painful gum and tooth. I kept the alcohol in the painful area for about ten seconds before swallowing. Amazingly, the throbbing prickly pain disappeared, and the gum felt numbed.

In the morning, the swelling had lessened, the tenderness in the gum lessened, and the aching in the tooth was gone. After brushing my teeth, I applied the alcohol again and tried to keep the area clean during the day. That night, the gum was still a bit red but the swelling and tooth pain was gone. I applied the alcohol again before sleeping. The next day, the gum was back to normal.

Alcohol is an amazing tool! Hopefully, it can help you.

Are canker sores causing you misery? Sometime, I bite the inside of my cheek and a few days later a canker sore shows up. For a week or two, every time I eat something it’s like chewing on glass or nails. Most of the time I just endure the pain as I wait for the canker sore to heals.

After seeing the effectiveness of alcohol on sore throat, I tried it on the canker sore. Surprisingly, it relieve the pain immediately. It stung when I applied it, but the canker sore is numbed soon after. This relief last for about 2 or 3 hours before having to reapply. After applying for a couple of days, the sore shrinks and disappear.

To apply,

• Pour 1 teaspoon of alcohol into your mouth, and maneuver the alcohol to the canker sore.
• Be prepare for a little sting!
• Sometime it’s easier to just tilt your head and let the alcohol flow to the right place.
• Move the alcohol around the area for about 10 seconds before swallowing.
• Reapply after 2 or 3 hours

After a couple of days, the canker sore should be gone.

Tip:
If you notice a canker sore just starting to develop, you can quickly apply the alcohol, and it should be gone within a day, saving you several days of mouth pain.

Note:
For some reason, using alcohol doesn’t seem to work for my wife’s canker sore. The alcohol stings the canker sore but doesn’t seem to shrink it and make it disappear. It’s good to know that it doesn’t work for everyone.

Hate getting sick? Here’s a good trick you can use to avoid getting sick this cold and flu season.

We all know and maybe even used tricks like:

1. Holding our breathe when someone coughs or sneezed in front of us
2. Avoiding people who has a cold or flu
3. Washing our hands often
4. Avoid touching our face with contaminated hands

Despite our best efforts, most of us still catch a cold or flu at least once during the year.

I noticed that when I catch a cold or flu my body goes through a cycle.

THE CYCLE:

1. Sore throat
2. Fever
3. Runny nose
4. Cough
5. Recover

Depending on the strength of the bug and my immune system, each step will vary in length.

I noticed that if I can stop the sore throat from moving on to the next step, I am able to stop the cycle before it gathers strength and turns into a full blown cold or flu. Once it passes the sore throat step, I am doomed to run the entire cycle.

I have tried many things to stop the sore throat:

• Cough drops
• Cough Syrup
• Honey
• Vitamin C

Most of the time, it provides temporarily relief but the cycle continues. One day I tried alcohol and the sore throat withered away.

How to Apply the Alcohol
The trick is to sip one or two tablespoon of alcohol (whether it is brandy, vodka, wine, beer or whichever alcoholic drink you have) and coat as much of the throat as you can. You want to keep the alcohol at the sore spot for as long as possible. You can reapply every three to four hours, or when you feel the sore throat coming back. It should take a day or two to disappear completely.

It works consistently for me, hopefully this can help you stop the cold and flu in its tracks.

The next time you feel a sore throat starting, pour yourself a shot of your favorite alcoholic beverage, slowly sip and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that you are saving yourself a few weeks of suffering.