Nasal rinsing with salt water is an invigorating way to freshen up your nose and sinuses! Whether it's for sinus infections, colds, nasal congestion, seasonal or year-round allergy symptoms, these rinses help clean the nose of offending mucous, germs, and allergens to reduce inflammation, keep the airways open, and loosen stubborn mucous before it hardens into boogers or crusts. Rinsing is also important after nasal surgery to promote good healing. As a Rhinologist, or sinus expert, I recommend nasal rinses routinely to most of my patients and strongly encourage anyone with nasal symptoms to give it a shot! The key to successful rinses = slow and steady with the bottle squeezing and never hard or fast squeezing (unlike the example shown in this parody....).
Important rinse tips:
1. Always use distilled water!!! (even filtered water can contaminate your nose and sinuses with germs)...
2. Rinse with face aimed downwards over a sink or tub so that one side of your nose fills up, then let the rinse slowly flow out the other nostril for several seconds before switching sides.
3. Warm the solution (microwave for a few seconds at a time, checking that it's not too warm before using) to maximize comfort.
4. Keep those bottles clean! Run through the dishwasher, clean with soap/water and bottle brush, and replace the bottle about every 4 to 6 months to minimize contamination risk.
5. Pre-mixed nasal rinse packets make rinsing easier, but recipes are available online if you want to mix salt and baking soda on your own. Warning - getting this mixture wrong can burn during rinses!
6. Sinus doctors often prescribe medications that can be added to rinses once or twice daily - because rinses are actually the best delivery method for topical medications for the nose and sinuses!
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
Although I am a medical doctor by profession, I may not yet be YOUR doctor. All content and information in my videos or that I post online should be viewed as educational and informative without constituting personal medical advice. Should you wish to establish care and receive treatment recommendations based upon your specific needs, then please schedule a visit at www.premiersinus.com, call my office - My Houston Surgeons - at (713) 791-0700, or visit another qualified healthcare provider in your area.
If you have any questions about nasal rinses or nasal problems in general, feel free to leave them in the comments.
THANKS FOR WATCHING!!!
- Dr Allen (SnotDocTX)