Your nose is stuffy, you're sneezing all the time and it's getting on your nerves? Then try a nasal rinse. I'll tell you everything you need to know about it. This is my nasal irrigation experience!
The cold season is in high season. Everything sniffles, sneezes and coughs. Time to put an end to it, I thought, and stumbled across a nasal douche during my research.
Sounds very promising at first. Time to try it out for myself. This is my nose shower experience!
Unsparing, blunt and with extra slime :)
Table of contents
There are little helpers that should not be missing in any household. They make everyday life easier and should be immediately at hand. And then there are gadgets that really no one needs. They lie around, consume space and are ultimately not used.
What about a device that flushes the nose? Do you really need it or should you rather save the money?
I have tried it and tell you here my experience with the nasal douche.
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Why I would like to have my own nasal irrigation experience
If you have regular sneezing attacks like me, you've probably tried a lot of things. What makes me sneeze? The hazel, the birch and in autumn / winter the house dust mite. So there is enough to sneeze almost all year round :)
If I can get the irritating particles out of my nose, then the sneezing should also get better. Shouldn't it? As you can see, I've already thought a lot about this.
This is also the main reason why I have the nasal douche in the test. And then, of course, there would be a normal cold, where a nasal rinse is really worthwhile. The salt water should simply flush the viruses out of the sinuses, the mucous membranes should decongest and you should finally be able to breathe freely again.
This all sounds very promising.
For the test I have these Nasal douche incl. rinsing salt ordered from Amazon. The website says that it is recommended for these applications:
- Prevention of colds
- Dry nose
- Pollen and house dust allergy
- Upper respiratory tract infections
- for heavy dust load
- for inflammation of the nose and sinuses
- and to accelerate healing after sinus surgery
What you should know about the principle of action of nasal rinsing
Nasal irrigation works because you flush the sinuses with the saline solution and water. You gently flush tough mucus, pathogens, allergens, dust and more out of your nose.
During the rinsing process, a negative pressure is created in the nose. It sucks the mucus out of the sinuses and flushes the entire nose.
If you have a cold or are about to catch a cold, you can use the rinse to reduce the number of viruses in your nose. You can prevent a cold if you act quickly enough.
How to use the nasal douche correctly
There are nasal douches in many forms and materials. But they have one thing in common: the application.
For a nasal rinse, use 250 ml of lukewarm tap water and 2.5 grams of special salt. Do not use household, sea or other salts. Play it safe and stock up on the salt for nasal irrigation. You don't want to further irritate your mucous membranes.
Dissolve the salt completely in the water. My experience with lukewarm water in the nasal douche is that the salt hardly dissolves. For me, it works best when I take 100 ml of hot water, dissolve the water in it and then add the lukewarm remaining water.
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Once that's done, it's on to rinsing the nose.
- To do this, stand by a sink.
- Keep your head upright and slightly tilted forward.
- Put the nasal douche on and open your mouth as wide as you can. It is very important that your mouth is wide open, otherwise the salty water will run down your throat.
- Breathe through the mouth and let the water flow through the sinuses.
- Do not squeeze the bottle! Otherwise the rinsing solution will get into the middle ear, which can lead to earache.
- Change the nostril when only half of the salt water is left in the bottle.
If you follow these points, you will have a pleasant nasal shower experience. If you have your mouth too little wide open, then it will be an unpleasant and salty experience :)
How often you should rinse your nose
It all depends on what ailments you're reaching for nasal irrigation for.
For a cold
You can treat your nose with salt water 3 times a day if you have a cold. However, it should not be much more often, because the mucous membranes dry out too much due to the salt.
If you only want to moisten your dry mucous membranes, then simply leave out the salt when rinsing the nose. It also works very well with lukewarm tap water.
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For prevention
If it is cold season, you can rinse your nose 1-2 times a week. If you have just been with someone who has a runny nose, then you should immediately rinse your sinuses. Then it can be 3-4 times a week.
Nasal rinsing is not harmful. If you feel the need to rinse, it is better not to wait too long.
In case of pollen allergy
Hazel, birch, grasses and co. make life difficult for you? Then a nose shower experience is also worthwhile.
Use the rinsing bottle in the evening before going to bed. Your mucous membranes will decongest and the pollen will be flushed out of your nose.
For house dust allergy
You should proceed differently than with pollen allergy with house dust mites. They make our lives very difficult, especially in the morning after getting up, because they feel very comfortable in the bedding.
So rinse them out of your nose to have a nice start to the day. If it is particularly bad in autumn/winter, you can also rinse during the day. However, a rinse without salt is usually sufficient here.
My nasal irrigation experience: This is how it feels
Well, now we know everything about the effect in theory. But very important: How does a nasal douche feel?
I'll try to describe it to you here as clearly as possible so you know what to expect during your nasal irrigation experience.
After you have filled the bottle with lukewarm water and the special salt, you are ready to go.
You bend over the sink, put the shower on one nostril and then it gets nasty. To prevent the salt water from running down your throat and coming out the other nostril, you have to open your mouth wide.
If your sinuses are very congested, you may feel a powerful pressure. It can feel like you're getting a nose in the water in a swimming pool if you have a real cold. So anything but pleasant.
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But once it starts dripping and then trickling, it feels very liberating.
Those who have weak nerves, should not look so closely. Because at first, the sink will fill with mucus. The sinuses will be cleaned out really nicely. Everything that doesn't pay rent has to go. This is purely visually not very nice, but in retrospect very pleasant.
After you have used half of the salt water, you can change the nostril. Now the nasal irrigation experience is not as unpleasant as the first nostril. The worst is already rinsed out and in the gutter.
What happens after nasal rinsing
So now the nose is clear, the last drop of water has fought its way through my sinuses. And now?
Now you should definitely grab a handkerchief and blow your nose properly. You'll be surprised how much water still comes out.
And what did I wonder when about 20 minutes after the nasal rinsing suddenly salt water clotted out of my nose. Just at the moment when I bend down to lift something from the floor. Suddenly a gush of water shoots out of my nose and lands on the floor in front of my feet.
Except for that unpleasant surprise, it feels very good right after rinsing. I am sure this will not be my last nasal irrigation experience.
After using the nasal douche, you must not forget about cleaning. You should rinse and drain the shower. Disinfect it by putting it in a pot of boiling water from time to time.
My conclusion
My nasal irrigation experience has been consistently positive. In fact, although it feels icky at first, it quickly becomes more pleasant because the mucous membranes decongest and all the mucus can finally drain away. I regularly rinse in the fall/winter against the dust mite and in the spring against the pollen. If a cold comes on top of that in winter, I quickly reach for the nasal rinse to get rid of all the germs.
I have a very clear opinion on the purchase of a nasal rinser: Yes, it's worth it! Get well soon! :)
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