What in the world is a neti pot?

What in the world is a neti pot? I'm Dr. Alan Greene and I want to show you this simple device that has been used in a natural way to help deal with nasal congestion, sinus congestion, and allergies.

Here's an example of the pot. They come in different brands and generic. What you do is you fill it with luke warm water and empty some packets of saline in there so it's a medicated rinse, saline rinse. Then you will want to get over a sink, bend over the sink and stick the pot into your nostril so that you get sort of a seal. And then of all things, you turn your head to the side until one nostril is right above the other while breathing through your mouth. Don't inhale. Don't snort. And what will happen is that it will wash through your sinuses and around and start dripping out the other nostril into the sink. When you're done, exhale and you have rinsed the inside of your nasal passages. Repeat on the other side as necessary.

Review Date:5/30/2022
Reviewed By:Josef Shargorodsky, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

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