Keep your nose clean -- literally!

COVID-19 is a Virus, don't treat it kindly

Besides washing my hands these days and growing a beard so I can tug on it instead of putting my hands on my mouth, I am continuing to use my mainstay for defense against viruses and other things that I want to keep out of my nose where they will bring me no good: I rinse my sinuses. I don't understand why it has worked for myself and others, but a recent article published in Nature and the current concern about the nasty virus going about has encouraged me to share this information more broadly. I am a pragmatic skeptic. I am aware of confirmation bias. But I don't need to understand everything about something before I am willing to try it. I learned about nasal rinsing from someone I knew who worked in a high-exposure environment for viruses and germs. It became part of my cleanliness routine. And I am going to continue to use this simple nasal rinsing in addition to "keeping calm and washing my hands."

Backstory

Over 20 years ago, Lois, my senior by decades, shared a little plastic container with a long spout -- a netipot -- with my wife with the following testimony: "Take this for what you will, but I have spent my life working in the nursery school with children who often have colds. Whenever I feel any tickle or stuffy nose coming on, I mix up a salt solution and pour it through my sinuses with this little pot and I have almost never had a cold in all those years." It sounded a little weird to my wife, but I am more adventurous.

Every Fall I used to get a sinus condition that would work its way down into my chest and stay lodged there for a few weeks and I would get a deep bass voice that could barely be heard. It must have been around this time that the nasal-evangelist introduced the netipot. And I thought, "What have I got to lose?" I read what to do, watched a few videos, then mixed up the salt solution and started rinsing. Lots of gunk came out with the rinse, leaving me breathing freely for several hours. Eventually the cold/infection cleared up and I felt better sooner than usual. From then on, whenever I felt a tickle in the nose or throat I would mix up the salt solution and rinse. After I went swimming in pollen filled waters I would rinse. When the hayfever of the changing seasons would hit me I would rinse. When living in the polluted airs of the Kathmandu valley...I would rinse! Over the decades that I have used the netipot, I have had very few significant colds or sinus infections. And even when I did, the symptoms rarely lasted for more than a day or two.

I have told others about the netipot but very few have been interested in giving it a try. My own family will use it a little grudgingly. One male parent said, "I don't want to hear any more about it! I prefer to let things run their natural course!" If you are the same, what can I say? (Even my son currently has a cough that he caught from his cousin and is going into week 3 and he will rarely try the rinse. On four occasions during the same time I have felt that "warning tickle" and rinsed and am still free of symptoms.)

Consider the Following

1. Maybe the reason your nose is running is to try clear out whatever is causing the trouble;
2. "gargle with salt water" is something someone has likely suggested to you -- there might be something to it;
3. a recent study showed a significant decrease in symptoms and transmission in those that used nasal rinsing; that study also indicated that cells, given access to the chloride in the salt water, were able to make the active ingredient found in bleach, but naturally ... at human-safe levels that help to kill germs and disable viruses in the nasal cavity;
4. cold and respiratory pathogens gain access through the sinus and multiply there; if you can keep them from multiplying by washing them out, perhaps you are helping your body's natural mechanisms to rid itself of said pathogens;
5. you don't need to understand something to benefit from it.

What have you got to lose?

If none of the above are persuasive and if it just sound too weird -- rinsing water through your nose and sinuses -- could you give it a try on my word?

And hey, it seems a lot less strange to me than the capability of a childhood classmate at the cafeteria table in elementary school that could down a carton of milk through a straw placed in his nose. Reminds me of the calf that spouts milk after dunking his head in the milk bucket!

It's made a difference in my life just as it did for the woman who introduced my wife to it so long ago. It's a little awkward at first but once you get the mixture right and the technique mastered, it is very easy and takes less time than it does to brush your teeth. And trust me -- once you've done it you will realize that you've had a nose rinse if you've jumped into the lake feet first, especially from a diving platform.

What is needful?

Besides being willing to try nasal rinsing, you will need the salt water and a way to deliver it to your nose. The netipot has been designed like a watering can for the nose that allows the water to be tipped from the pot, into a nostril without dripping all over, up the nasal passage, into the sinus and out the other nostril. There are links below for places from where the netipot may be purchased.

Here are my directions for mixing the solution and these seem to work for those to whom I have relayed them.

• 1 quart of boiled or distilled water, warmed
• 1 and a half teaspoons of sea salt per quart/liter of water
• a pinch of baking soda
• mix and store in a quart jug
• when ready to use it, pour a cup and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds
• put your finger in after you take it out of the microwave; if it is neutral temperature it won't feel hot or cold to your finger -- it will be j-u-u-st right -- and is ready to use (see links below for demonstrations)

If you have too little salt in the water it will sting in your nose and leave you feeling stuffy -- the hypotonic solution caused the cells lining your sinuses to swell; if you have too much salt the solution will burn a little -- the hypertonic solution is drawing water from the cells. Remember the Goldilocks principle: keep trying to you find the one that is j-u-u-st right! And, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"

Received with Joy

The most rewarding response I heard after telling someone about nasal rinsing was from someone who relayed to me how she was getting terrible sleep at night because of allergies. I explained what to do. She went to Walgreens and bought a NeilsMed clear netipot, followed the directions and gave it a try. The next time I saw her she said, "That was amazing! I slept so well. And I have had this problem for so many years! I called all my family and told them about it, too."

Would love to hear your own experiences and am willing to answer any questions.

Resources

Review

Review of recent study on nasal rinsing and a recipe -- but their mixture is 4x stronger than I use!

    COVID-19 motivated review of a 2019 study

What does the FDA say? (I recall hearing, too, that prune juice couldn't be labelled as an aid for constipation because of red tape...but those that know without needing it written happily eat or drink their prunes!)

    FDA comments

Show me!

    Banyan Botanicals

    Ashley's Conscious Living

    Mayo Clinic

If you follow those videos you will be on your way. The only thing that I would suggest for a more advanced technique is to place the tip of the netipot in one nose, place your finger on your other nose, and close your mouth and pretend you are sucking on a straw -- but keeping your lips closed. This will pull the water into your mouth and you can just spit it out. This helps if you are a little more conjested. It also gets the water to the back of the throat where (perhaps) it is also doing some good. With the NeilMed blue nettipot I can usually do two "draws" on each side.

Where to get a netipot?

    * Walgreens
    * NeilMed (blue ceramic or plastic -- I use the plastic one)
    * Amazon (hand-made ceramic)