Use the Neti Pot to Clear Nasal & Sinus Congestion
I first found out about the neti pot a few years ago, and ever since then I have recommended it religiously to everyone I talk to. Anyone who gets nasal congestion due to colds or allergies, sinus congestion, or sinus infections can benefit. There are so many advantages to using a neti pot. It’s inexpensive, fairly easy to find, easy to use once you get the hang of it, and very healthy.
What is a Neti Pot?
A neti pot is a container with a spout on the end of it, used to irrigate (clean) the nasal and sinus passages.
Where to Find a Neti Pot?
Neti pots are sold at most health food stores and yoga stores. They have become increasingly popular in the last few years.
How to Use a Neti Pot?
Put 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt into the neti pot (any good sea salt will do, it does not have to be special neti pot salt). Then fill the neti pot with warm water (filtered or spring water is best). Mix the water with a spoon until the salt is fully dissolved.
Tip your head forward and to the side. Put the spout gently into your nostril so that an airtight seal is formed. Tip the neti pot up and tilt your head further to the side until the water starts pouring out from the opposite nostril.
Keep pouring until the neti pot is empty. Remove the spout and blow forcefully out from both nostrils. Then repeat the process with the other nostril.
Watch this video for a thorough step by step demonstration of the procedure:
How to Get Your Children to Use the Neti Pot
My 6 and 7 year old both use a neti pot. Eventually, once your children have watched you use the neti pot a number of times, they will be curious about trying it themselves. Make it fun for them by letting them measure out the salt into the neti pot. Make sure to emphasize to them the correct head position (forward and to the side). Eventually they will become curious enough that they will allow you to pour the water into their nostrils. Kids become fascinated when they see the water pouring from one nostril and out the other. It’s like a mini science experiment!
Showing your kids this technique is invaluable if they have nasal congestion at bedtime. The neti pot will help both children and parents to get a restful, congestion-free sleep.
Why is Using a Neti Pot Healthy?
The saline (salt) solution helps remove mucus, bacteria, pollutants, and other irritants from the nasal and sinus cavities. And in contrast to using Nasonex and other pharmaceutical products, using the neti pot is completely safe and has no side effects.
History of the Neti Pot
Neti Pot usage first originated in India and South East Asia, and was part of the ancient yoga tradition. These Eastern cultures have used the neti pot routinely for centuries.
Chronic Allergies, Chronic Sinus Congestion & Low Immunity
People with chronic health complaints should see a professional homeopath in their area. Homeopathic treatment will strengthen the immunity and reduce the susceptibility to colds, allergies, congestion and infections. Contact the clinic to find out more about constitutional homeopathic treatment.
Chickenpox Parties Need to Make a Comeback
I remember getting chickenpox as a child in the early ’80s. Due to the highly infectious nature of chickenpox, all the kids in the neighbourhood got it. None of our parents blinked an eyelash because they knew that chickenpox was a harmless disease if acquired during childhood with a very low risk of complications.
Before the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine in 1999 here in Canada, it was fairly common for parents to hold “chickenpox parties.” A chickenpox party involves the deliberate exposure of children infected with the chickenpox virus to other children who have not yet been exposed to the disease. Parents willingly expose their children to the disease in order to grant their children life-long immunity to chickenpox. These “chickenpox party” parents know that chickenpox is a mild disease if acquired during childhood, but infection is riskier when acquired by teens or adults.
What Changed?
Before the introduction of the vaccine, chickenpox (varicella) was considered by almost everyone to be a mild disease, and parents were not concerned if their children were infected with it. Now, most parents are horrified by the idea of chickenpox parties. So what’s changed?
Relatively Benign Disease in Childhood Becomes Risky in Adulthood
In general, complications as well as fatalities from chickenpox are more commonly observed in adults than in children. Case-fatality ratios (deaths per 100 000 cases) in healthy adults are 30-40 times higher than among children aged 5-9 (WHO). Each year from 1990 to 1994, prior to the availability of varicella vaccine, about 4 million cases of chickenpox occurred in the United States. Of these cases approximately 10,000 required hospitalization and 100 died. After the introduction of the vaccine in 1995, overall US chickenpox deaths plummeted to 66 per year in 2001 and hospitalizations declined significantly. However, death rates from chickenpox did not decline for those aged 50 or older (NEJM).
A Decrease in Chickenpox Infection Leads to an Increase in Shingles
Shingles (herpes zoster) is a debilitating, painful skin rash acquired in adulthood. After a child has been exposed to the chickenpox virus, the virus remains latent in the body. The varicella virus can later be reactivated as shingles later in life. If the varicella virus infects the nerve cells, it can cause an extremely painful condition called postherpetic neuralgia. Nerve pain caused by postherpetic neuralgia can last for months and in some cases even years. Approximately 200,000 adult Americans are afflicted with postherpetic neuralgia every year.
There is scientific evidence that adults who are regularly exposed to children infected with the chickenpox virus have increased protection against the shingles (Thomas). Thus, natural exposure to the chickenpox virus boosts adults’ immunity against shingles, acting like a natural shingles vaccine. Since chickenpox infection rates are now so low in Canada and the US, chances of adult exposure to the virus is also low, thus scientists expect an eventual shingles epidemic to emerge in the coming years (Brisson).
Since the beginning of the mass chickenpox vaccination campaign in the US, deaths and hospitalizations did decrease, but studies also showed that shingles increased over that same time period (Yih; Mullooly). A recent MacLeans article quotes several scientists who admit that more varicella vaccine coverage has already sparked an increase in shingles in Canada and the US, plus it is shifting shingles incidence to a younger population.
Introducing the Shingles Vaccine
Merck, the manufacturer of the varicella vaccine, is forcing a shingles epidemic on the American (and Canadian) population. But they cleverly “fixed” the problem that they created when they invented a vaccine for shingles in 2007. Now they are trying to push the shingles vaccine on the elderly population of North America.
What Next?
The chickenpox vaccine is decreasing the incidence of a mild disease, and in exchange is increasing the incidence of a more debilitating disease: shingles. Now what? Once the entire elderly population starts vaccinating against shingles, what new problem will that create?
Time to Bring Back Pox Parties
Big Pharma companies like Merck have profits, not your health, in mind. It’s time to take your family’s health into your own hands. Have a pox party. Build your child’s immunity naturally instead of relying on vaccines. Adults should attend these parties as well because natural exposure to the chickenpox virus boosts their immunity to shingles.
Organize a Chickenpox Party in Vancouver
Join this yahoo group to find other like-minded parents to organize pox parties with: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chickenpoxinvancouverbc/
Still concerned about the chickenpox? Read about homeoprophylaxis, a natural way to boost the immune system.
Enjoy this article? You might enjoy this one as well: Fear the MMR Vaccine, Not the Measles
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