Good point about the nose blowing. My daughter saw today's show a few weeks ago and promptly bought a neti pot. She has allergies and sounds like an elephant trumpeting when she tries to blow her nose. But she thinks the neti pot has helped her and uses it every morning.

And as for Orpah and her cell phone - methinks her lady in waiting carries one for her to use. I can't imagine she doesn't have one nearby at all times.

I love my neti pot!!

I was interested to find out why African Americans are more prone to High Blood Pressure.

It is because those African Slaves that came over by boat could only survive if they could retain salt. Thus, the high blood pressure in their ancestry.

American Indians are prone to high blood pressure, diabetes and Alcoholism. Mostly because of their diet. But, the Alcoholism I don't understand. Except that we may be a more ancient ancestry that lived hundreds of years without alcohol before the Europeans taught us how to party down.

I approach alcohol with great caution having "Southern Baptist" background and Indian Heritage.

Gayle

When I was a teenager we used to watch American Indians walking the beams of skyscrapers under construction. They were hired for their sure-footed perfect balance. We heard they made a lot of money and spent most of it in bars Friday and Saturday nights. Even at that age we thought it was terribly sad.

I have some american indian (Sioux) blood, according to my cousin who travelled throughout the US and traced our geneology. My fsther was one of seven children. All died of heart attacks, as did his parents. I myself have extremely high blood poressure, now under control with medication and three times a week kidney dialysis sessions. There are alcoholics on my mother's side for four generations, including my daughter, my brother, my mom, and her uncle. I truly believe it's all in the genes. I own a Neti pot and use it with mild salt water any time I get a sinus infection. It feels strange but it works wonders for me.

After viewing the neti pot segment, I ran out to my Walgreen's and bought one.

Best thing ever! Wow!

I can breathe freely! I have severe post-nasal drip, so let's see if it gets cleared up any in the coming days.

So far, so good! I am extremely pleased!

~ Carol ~

I use that technique with tiny paper cups. I just pinch one side of it and fill with a saline solution. Works great!

Another NA here,and it's true heart attacks run through our blood as does alcholism.All my moms brothers and 1 sister died from Heart disease brought on by excessive drinking,as did 3 of my brothers.All of us kids said if we made it out of the 50's we had a good chance at a long life taken after my dads side of the family.

Out of 12 kids in my family,6 have passed on,4 boys,2 girls.My one sister is the only one that didn't die of heart disease or from drinking.The dr's screwed up in a simple breast surgery and for lack of a better word,killed her.
They just settled the lawsuit earlier this year.

Those of us left in my family have been educating the younger generation on "What not to do".
I'm very blessed to be heading for 70 in a few months,and in good health.I have never drank or smoked.
Kathi

I didn't see the show, but I find the comments on the neti pot interesting because of my DD's sinus problem. She often mentions having a problem breathing through her nose, and has allergies such as to freshly cut grass.

So I'm thinking this might help her. I googled and found info including a link to Dr Oz re the neti pot. There are pictures, also, of various pots. One looks just like a little vessel that I have had for many years and was told it is an invalid feeder. In fact, there was a post here on the KT about these at one time.

Anyhow, would I expect to find one at WaMart or CVS, maybe? We don't have a Walgreens.

Sue

Sue, you can usually find neti pots at a health food store. Most of them look like ceramic Aladdin's lamps.

Here's one from Amazon. I was interested to see this one because it's from the Himalayan Institute, where I first learned to use a neti pot over 20 years ago.

At that time, I was told to use non-iodized salt rather than iodized. (Always add a little salt  plain water is irritating.)

I saw Neti pots at walmart in the pharmacy section

Now that Dr. Oz has spread the word (like wildfire!), Walmart will be happy they jumped on the bandwagon.

I didn't watch the show. I have heard of irrigating the nose with salt water because it creates a harsh environment fot bacteria so they won't grow. That's also why you gargle with salt water if you get a cold or sore throat.

An acquaintance of mine who is a nurse recently told me that a lot of alcoholics are not alcoholics because they crave the alcohol. They are actually craving the sugar in the alcohol. THat may be one explanation of why alcoholism and diabetes run together.

I saw the one at Amazon when I googled. It is like my "invalid feeder". lol

I will check out WalMart, and we do have a health food store here.

Thanks for the info.

Sue

My neti pot came with instructions to use non-iodized salt and a pinch of either baking soda or baking powder (can't remember which).

Those of you who use a neti pot--how, *exactly* does it work? I have bad sinus problems, post-nasal drip, and a deviated septum, plus I'm allergic to everything under the sun. I'm curious if a neti pot would help some of my problems.

But perhaps because of my allergy-related breathing problems, I've been getting more and more panicky about water in my face and not being able to breathe. I'm afraid I'd drown myself if I tried to use a neti pot. Can you tell me more of what it's like?

julie

Hey Julie,

all you do is put your water/salt solution in the pot, tip your head to the side, put the little spout up to one nostril, and slowly pour the solution in one side. I tend to put my face slightly downward, so the solution will only run in one nostril and out the other, and not down the back of your throat. It definitely feels strange the first time, but after the first or second time you get used to it. You can breathe out your mouth while your doing it and there is no water getting in your face at all. After I do each side, I just gently blow my nose. It totally clears out your nose and feels great. I have alot of allergy and breathing issues to, and I feel like I can breathe so well after using the neti pot. It's almost addicting! Give it a try!

Here's a pic of it in action (sorry if it grosses anyone out!)

A few weeks prior to the airing of this show, I received an advertisement in the mail for a local store advertising the neti pot. I was intrigued and did some online searching. You can now buy them at Longs Drugs as well. I have asthma and allergies and thought this might benefit me. But during my search I also found a sinus rinse technique using a squeeze bottle and saline and thought it more appealing, because you can vary the pressure with which the water flushes your sinuses. I am so happy to have discovered this and I use it every day.

Parhelia, you just lean over the sink and tilt your head in a certain manner and the neti pot just uses gravity to take the water through one nostril, through your sinuses, and out the other nostril. Simple as that. And I totally understand your fear of drowning. I was a bit hesitant at first (I had an older brother who loved dunking me as a kid, and I always felt as if he might succeed in drowning me one day), but I don't get that feeling while using my sinus rinse bottle.

Do a search for neti pot and you'll find videos showing people using them.

I posted about this a couple of weeks ago on the health forum, but got so few responses that I thought nobody used them. Now I see that I was just posting in the wrong place.

Of course, my family thinks I'm crazy, but I told them I don't care. I like to breathe freely.

My DD has horrible sinus issues. She's only 12 and her ENT wanted to do sinus surgery last summer. We held off as she's kinda young for this horrible surgery. My DH had it done a few yrs. back. Not a fun surgery or recovery. Anyway, a nurse at her pediatrician's suggested the neti pot and I did buy it but never used it. She's scared to have it done (yes, fear of drowning or breathing water and chocking on it). How do I make this easier for her? I think it would be so great for her to do it. What instructions can I give her to make it easier to do... like hold your breath, put your head like this... what's the best way for a 12 year old? Someone pls. advice me. Thanks.

No, don't tell her to hold her breath; tell her to breathe through her mouth. I would first describe where the water (saline) is going to go, and how it's going to wash away troublesome stuff like pollen, etc. Then I would demonstrate the neti pot by using on yourself. (You might want to practice in private first.)

Tell her the worst case scenario is that she'll feel as though she caught a wave the wrong way while body surfing. Tell her NO WAY is she going to drown. Tell her to experiment with the position of her head to make the water come out her other nostril. If she holds her head at the wrong angle, some water will go down her throat. She'll swallow it. It doesn't feel bad.

I think seeing you use the neti pot will reassure her.

Good luck!

Susan

Orie,

Here is a very good video that shows and explains how to use the neti pot.

Maybe if you and your DD watched it together, and maybe could see a little humor in it, she would be willing to give it a try.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: neti pot