Neti Pot - Love It or Leave It?

The Neti Pot.  Some people love it and "swear" by it.  I could leave it.  We have one.  The idea is, that you use this pot with warm salt water to irrigate your sinuses.  It works for Steve and makes a very big difference for him.  I tried it once and felt like I was drowning.  It was a very unpleasant experience for me.  I would much rather take my Zyrtec and increase my Vitamins D3 and C to kick start and boost my immunity.  However, if I had no other option than to learn how to use this pot without drowning myself, I think I'd try a little harder.

We had not explained any of this to the kids, and they overheard us talking about the Neti Pot as we discussed the nasty cold virus our household was fighting - only two of us have escaped it.  The girls that have been diagnosed with asthma needed to use their inhalers and the baby has needed nebulizer treatments. Curious about this Netti Pot, they asked what it was, so Steve offered to show them.  They had no idea what they were about to witness!

To use the pot, you are to tip the spout into one nostril and the salt water flows through that side of the nose, into the sinus cavities and out the other nostril while you breathe through your mouth and tip your head just so, over  sink.  Then you blow your nose and do it again the other direction.  Hopefully you can get the water through just the sinus cavities and not your mouth.  Sounds complicated and gross doesn't it?

So Steve got the pot ready and the four middle kids gathered around him in the bathroom to see what this Neti Pot thing does.  The oldest was smarter than them and the youngest was clueless.  Shortly after the "show" started, 10-year-old daughter came running from the bathroom yelling "EWWWW!!!"  And then there was laughter and expressions of "cool" and "weird" among a few other comments I'll spare you of.  It was quite the exciting start to a day of Daddy staying home from work sick.  The Neti Pot did it's job and he was back to work the next day.  So he loves it and I'll leave it.

How about you?  Have you ever used a Neti Pot?  Do you love it or leave it?  Or are you curious and ready to try it yourself?  Just remember safety and don't use tap water.