Neti pot can ease sinus problems
PEOPLE'S PHARMACY
My friend, daughter-in-law and I have been able to stop our prescription nasal sprays and inhalers for sinus problems and allergies since using a neti pot daily. I get bronchitis easily, but I have been cough-free for two months since I began rinsing my sinuses nightly with a mixture of 1 cup of warm water and one-quarter teaspoon salt.
The neti pot looks a bit like an Aladdin's lamp. Ayurvedic medicine has used neti pots for regular nasal cleansing for hundreds of years. The head is tipped forward and slightly to the side so water can be poured into one nostril and allowed to run out the other. Nasal irrigation may also be accomplished with spray equipment from drugstores. A small 2008 study in the Wisconsin Medical Journal suggests that many with chronic sinus symptoms benefit from daily nasal irrigation.
While suffering from the itching of fire-ant bites, I jumped into the shower, adjusted the water to as hot as I could stand and, using my hand-held pulsating shower head, ran it up and down the affected area. The itching stopped. This method of relieving severe itching may be better than hot-compress application. Hot water alleviates itching, and pulsating water satisfies the urge to scratch.
Brief exposure to hot water (a few seconds) can ease itching from bug bites or mild poison ivy. The hot water interrupts the itch signal from nerve endings for a few hours. But do not use hot water for hives as it could make matters worse.
Reach Joe Graedon, a pharmacologist, and Teresa Graedon, an expert in medical anthropology and nutrition, at www.peoplespharmacy.com or in care of this newspaper.
