The cold and flu season is well and truly with us again. In America alone approximately 100 million of us visit physicians each year and spend billions of dollars on often ineffective over the counter medicines.

Beyond the individual suffering we endure, it is said that colds also cost the economy $40 billion each year in lost revenue from workers needing sick days and recovery time.

The most commonly recognised form of cold we know is nasopharyngitis, or rhinopharyngitis. It consists of an infection deep within the nasal cavities which cause the sinus tissues to inflame and mucus production to increase. As the battle between your immune system and virus rages, the mucus changes to the thick green / yellow structure as the white cells die out and collect. This then becomes an issue known commonly as a Sinus Infection.

All of this leaves us feeling blocked up and sometimes physically drained. Quite often we also experience areas of pain around the sinuses including the bridge of the nose, eye sockets and forehead. A headache is all too often present as well.

Growing up in the UK, the only the only way I knew of fighting a cold was to take paracetamol and perhaps use a topical decongestant nasal spray. The decongestants while sometimes seeming to help, do not address the infection, but only reduce swelling of the sinuses. The root cause of the infection is not addressed. When you add to this they cannot be used for more than three days straight, they can often appear far from being an effective treatment.

So are we limited to just putting up until we recover? Partially, but not entirely.

There is a method which is lot closer to home then you may believe – Kitchen close in fact. This method has been in used for several thousand years and was formulated within Ayurveda tradition of medicine in India. It is known as the neti pot (or Jali Neti) and consists of pouring a saline solution through the nasal cavities, by entering one nostril to then exit through the other nostril. This results in the warm water removing debris and the salt fighting the infection right at the area of contention.

I personally have used this method with impressive results and many others testify too.

While having a real Neti Pot is a bonus, there is in fact a cheaper alternative which works just as well in the same way. This is the simple condiment (squeezy) bottle that you often see used for Ketchup or Mustard dispense.

Here are the full steps

1. Once you have found a bottle start off by washing it very well with detergent and then rinse it thoroughly.
2. Next boil some water and use this water to pour over the bottle to sanitize it. Be careful here not to scold yourself and use a pair of tongs if you have some to hold the bottle.
3. With the rest of the boiled water allow it to cool to body temperature (98.6°F or 37°C).
4. Note: Do not use anything else apart from boiled water, with the exception of purified distilled water that you know is clean and uncontaminated.
5. Get some standard Sea Salt, typically this is non-ionised salt as opposed to the ionised table salt which can sting a little and irritate the nose.
6. Place about half a teaspoon into approximately 10 ounces of the previously boiled water and allow the salt granules to dissolve.
7. Now place the solution into the condiment bottle and screw the top firmly on.
8. Next position your head over a large bowl or hand basin and tilt your head sideways while looking right ahead. It should be so that one cheek of your face is parallel to the ceiling.
9. Place the spout of the bottle into the nostril which is positioned higher and allow the liquid to run out into the nose and through the nasal system. The whole time you are doing this keep your mouth open and only breath through your mouth. Do not panic or feel concern, the worst that can happen is you might get a little bit of salt in your mouth, in much the same way as you would have experience when swimming in sea water.

Eventually the solution will start to run out of the other nostril where you can allow it to drain away.

If the liquid is not passing through, then gently and slowly start to squeeze the bottle to increase the pressure.

You can now rotate to the other nostril should you like and allow solution to flow the other way.

After you have finished gently blow out of your nose so that the air removes the last remnants of water and dries the nasal passage.

Do this as often as you like and you will kill off the infection and help your nose to a speedy recovery.

Tags: neti pot, sinus infection