How to properly rinse your nose at home

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The life hacker prepared the most detailed instructions.

Why rinse your nose

Scientists have done a lot of research on Saline Nasal Irrigation for Upper Respiratory Conditions and found that saline:

• Moisturizes the nasal mucosa, preventing it from thinning under the influence of too dry air.
• It inhibits the development of inflammation.
• Reduces puffiness.
• Facilitates breathing with ARVI.
• Reduces the symptoms of allergic rhinitis. For example, in case of seasonal allergy to pollen, as it flushes allergenic particles from the nose.
• Reduces the risk of viral and bacterial diseases.

In addition, rinsing maintains the health of the nasal cilia, the hair that grows in the nostrils. This hair is enveloped in mucus and moisturizes the air, which then enters the nasopharynx and lungs, traps pathogenic bacteria and helps the sense of smell.

The benefits of nasal rinsing are so obvious that doctors recommend Natural Allergy Relief: Saline Nasal Sprays for everyone. Including daily. For example, in winter, when the air in the premises is dry by heating devices.

And if you have hay fever or ARVI with snot, flushing is absolutely necessary. Unless, of course, you want to recover quickly.

How to properly rinse your nose

The mechanism is simple: you pour the saline solution into one nostril and tilt your head so that the liquid, passing through the nasopharynx, pours out through the other.

Now, in detail about how to organize this Nasal Irrigation: Natural Relief for Cold & Allergy Symptoms.

1. Decide on the tool

For rinsing, you will need a container for saline: a syringe, a syringe without a needle, a neti-pot (this is the name of a special teapot for this procedure). All this can be bought at the pharmacy.

Ready-made sprays with saline solutions are also sold there, you can use them.

2. Prepare saline solution

Such solutions are also called physiological or isotonic. This means that, in addition to water, they contain exactly the same amount of salts as natural body fluids. In addition, there are hypertonic solutions - with a high salt content. Both options are suitable for rinsing.

Here is the most popular recipe for homemade saline solution. You will need a glass of warm water (about 36, 6 ° C, focus on body temperature) - distilled or boiled to prevent infection.

Add ¼ – ½ teaspoon of non-iodized salt and a pinch of baking soda. Mix well and pour into the prepared container.

3. Get into the correct posture

Lean over the sink at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. The nostrils should point down. Now turn your head slightly so that one nostril is higher than the other.

4. Start rinsing

Before starting the procedure, do not forget to open your mouth - you need to breathe through it. Place the tip of a syringe, syringe, spray, or neti pot into the upper nostril and inject enough solution into it.

You can see how this is done in the video from the Mayo Clinic.

If you feel a burning sensation, stop the procedure and prepare another solution - with less salt.

If you do everything correctly, fluid will begin to flow from the lower nostril, and possibly from the mouth. You don't need to swallow the solution, just spit it out. But if something gets in the throat, that's okay.

5. Clear the nose and repeat for the other nostril

After flushing through one nostril, blow your nose gently. Wipe your nose with a tissue and repeat the procedure (starting from point 3) for the other nostril.

When you can't rinse your nose

In some cases, washing is at least useless, at most harmful. Do not do this procedure if:

• The nose is so stuffed up that you cannot breathe it. Trying to break through the congestion, you run the risk of applying a stream of water with a high pressure and, together with the liquid, bring the causative agent of the disease into the middle ear.
• You have a deviated nasal septum. In this case, the liquid can linger in the nasal passages and become a breeding ground for bacteria to multiply.
• You have polyps, which are benign growths on the lining of your nose.
• You often suffer from nosebleeds.
• You have otitis media or are aware of your predisposition to ear infections.

If, with all this, you believe that rinsing the nose is necessary, seek help and advice from an ENT.