NeuroTalk Support Groups - Nasal irrigation for PN.

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Nasal irrigation for PN.

Quote:

Got a Runny Nose? Flush It Out!

http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-www...con_listen.gif by Allison Aubrey

http://media.npr.org/programs/mornin...l/nasal200.jpg http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-www...row_orange.gifGet a demonstration of a nasal irrigation using a neti-pot.

YouTube.com

Morning Edition, February 22, 2007 · No one likes to have a runny nose or a stuffed-up head. But for performers like aspiring opera singer Kyle Malone, congestion is a real show stopper.

"If you're stuck on the day of the performance and you have a cold," says Malone, "it's a dangerous thing." After all, his voice is his instrument.
In order to keep his head free of congestion, Malone has adopted a technique that singers use called nasal irrigation. Some people refer to it as nasal lavage or neti-potting.

One of Malone's former roommates, also a singer, taught him the technique several years ago.

"I came home one day and saw him doing it," Malone says. "And I was like, 'What in the world are you doing?' Because it's a very strange procedure. You're hunched over the sink and pouring saline into your nostril."

It Feels Like You Ate A Lot of Wasabi

After trying it himself, Malone says he was hooked. He's now a graduate student in the opera program at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. He keeps a busy schedule of rehearsals and performances, but each day he takes just a few minutes for nasal irrigation.

He begins by filling a small, bulb-shaped container with water. Then, he stirs in a store-bought package of SinuCleanse, which comes with its own container and a powder mixture of salts.

"I'll actually push the water in my nose," Malone says. The volume and force of the water flushes out the gunk that can irritate the nasal and sinus passages.

"You can feel your sinuses getting filled up," he says. But within a few seconds, the water starts to trickle out the opposite nostril.
Malone says the process is simple, easy and doesn't burn at all. He says what he does feel — almost immediately — is the sense that he's breathing freer.

"It's just a good feeling, like you had a lot of wasabi," he says. "You feel your sinus instantly cleared up."

Clear Passages Reduce Infections

Saline irrigation has gone mainstream in recent years. And there's research to suggest it works. In one small, study at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. David Rabago recruited two groups of sinus sufferers. Half were trained to use nasal irrigation daily. The others didn't use it all.

"The group that used the irrigation improved a lot" compared to the group that didn't, Rabago says.

On average, their symptoms of congestion and head pain improved about 30-40 percent. Researchers don't know if nasal irrigation actually removes the allergens or germs that cause infection. But the studies do suggest that when people rinse their passages regularly, they seem to be less prone to sinus infections.

If you're thinking about trying nasal irrigation, experts say it's important not to confuse it with the saline sprays or mists which are also available in the drugstore. Dr. Suzette Mikula, an ears, nose and threat specialist at Georgetown University, says those saline sprays are good for moisturizing.
"So if you have dryness in the wintertime, which we often do, nasal saline mist spray will be very effective," she says.

Jessica Tomback of Washington, D.C., says everyone in her family — including the kids — has a bottle of saline spray.
"We use it multiple times a day," Tomback says. "And when I use it when I have a stuffy nose, I feel like it gets a lot out."

But the difference between saline sprays and irrigation is that a spray is the equivalent of putting a foggy mist in your nose. It may loosen things up, but it won't force them out. Irrigation is like flushing a river of water through your nose and sinuses. For opera singer Kyle Malone, this seems to make him less vulnerable to congestion and more resonant as a singer.

I've been doing this for years. It helps PN because stuffed sinuses sap the body's energy and make one prone to illness. Somebody in the previous Braintalk forum attended a medical conference in Sydney, Oz where research on effects of chronic sinusitis was presented. The researcher found that swallowing of sinusitis bacteria over time supplanted the good intestinal flora with harmful, or not helpful bacteria. Digestion and proper absorption of nutrients suffered, leading to all kinds of symptoms, including causing or exacerbating PN.

I have several neti pots. My favorite is the large stainless steel type which holds more saline solution, and irrigates with more pressure. I can't recommend any of the links below, but they will show what is available and price ranges.

http://www.sinucleanse.com/netipotla...eti&campaign=1
http://www.bytheplanet.com/Products/...p?mID=6&cID=80
http://www.healthandyoga.com/sinus.html
http://www.amazon.com/Neti-Pot-Himal.../dp/B00027Z41G
http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/Sh...t-ceramic.aspx

An alternative to a Neti Pot is the Grossan Irrigator. It's a tip attached to a waterpik, and my sinus doc likes it because the high volume of water makes sure you don't dry out, as well as cleaning you out.

I use it with salt and sometimes a eucalyptus product, and it's terrific. Here's a link to a video of it.

http://hydromedonline.com/HydroPulseWEB_Sm.mov

I have Sjogren's Syndrome which comes with a dry mouth and eyes. Also not advertised is the dry nose and sinus tissues. A lot of the mucus which should drain naturally gets backed up and the tissues feel swollen. If this is not allowed to drain in some way, I get infections. I use this system and it works great: http://www.natlallergy.com/product.a...cd2=1174094282

There is no way anything could be left in the passages, it really cleans them out. And I've had no colds, no infections and no nosebleeds since I started doing this.

Billye

Thanks Billye. I ordered it from http://www.vitacost.com/NasalineNasalIrrigationSystem . It looks like the same thing, but a lot cheaper. This looks easier to use than a neti pot. I'll report back comparing them.

Thanks David,
I am looking for something more practical when I wear this one out. It was a little costly, but seems to have been worth it. Let me know how your's works out.

Billye

I do this from time to time because of sinus issues, but have never seen any of these gadgets. I use a 60cc syringe with a tapered tip (not used w/needles) and fill it with warm water, non-iodized salt and baking soda. I have several of the syringes and alternate them, washing them with very hot water and soap and turning upright to dry thoroughly on paper towels.

I don't now where to tell you to get them, but I got mine free from a Podiatrist. Vet possibly? I don't recall what their purpose is in the medical field.

If you try these, get the syringes that do not have the rubber-tipped barrel. There is a syringe that has a compressed rubber/plastic tipped barrel. The wide black tip on the others catches water and holds it. You can take it apart, so that it will dry, but the rubber will not last long.

Cathie

Source for the tapered tip syringes...

I was talking to the vet today and found that these are used in tubefeeding puppies and also for irrigation, so if you want to try these, they are pretty inexpensive. If you are friends with your vet, you might even get a freebie.

I've been using the Nasaline for two days now.

I believe it's superior to a neti pot. The saline solution is introduced with enough pressure and flow to break up and irrigate out mild stopages, allergens, dirt, and debris better than the neti pot, which only uses the slight gravity pressure of three or four inches of water.

As in so many things, gentleness is called for lest one injure the sinues. It is critical not to use too much salt and not to make the water too warm. Too hot or too salty water can actually damage or kill the ciliated cells lining the nasal passages.

Unlike the Nasoline instructions, I fill a 12 oz. glass with cool bottled water (or warm from the tap if in a hotel room...skip additional heating) and add 1/2 tsp. of non-iodized salt. Then, I heat the cool solution 30 to 40 seconds in the microwave, depending on starting water temperature and power of the microwave. Then stir and use.

Googling "60 cc syringes" turned up many sources with tapered tips:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=5763&cm_mmc=Shopping%20Por tal-_-NexTag-_-Birds-_-Hand%20Feeding%20Tip%20(60%20cc)&ref=3665&subref=A A&GCID=C12188x007

http://www.windycityparrot.com/Merch...de=30401451020

http://www.healthproductsforyou.us/p....aspx?PID=5313

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000N3M1GK/...K&linkCode=asn

etc., etc. The soft tip on the Nasaline comes off for easy transfer to replacement syringes, which is a money saver after you have the Nasaline. I'll bet a search through the baby section of drug stores would turn up other things that could be used as tips.

To me, it's great fun to come up with creative and superior money saving solutions. Thanks for the tip, Cathie, on buying 60cc syringes.

Well, the first one looks like the right kind of syringe, but it has the black rubber tip on the end of the plunger. You probably would want to avoid that. It holds water after you wash or rinse it, even if you take it apart. I don't know about sinuses, but I have handfed plenty of baby parrots and didn't like to risk bacteria or worse being left behind to be introduced at another feeding...

I could not get two of the sites to open and the other one was a bulb syringe-don't know if that one will work or not.

I will look and see if I can find the kind I was talking about.

Cathie

Here you go, David...

http://www.theperchstore.net/breedin...-syringes.html

You might want to try the 20 cc, instead of the 60. I use 30 cc's also-30 cc for each side of the nose. The force on the 60 is pretty strong and a little messy until you get the hang of it. I would hate to see anyone drown irrigating their nasal cavity...

See the difference in the "plunger" not the barrel. I don't know where my mind is today. The plunger doesn't have a wide rubber tip. Those hold water and also begin to dry out.