Water Up My Nose

Twenty-four hours before I had to get on an airplane I was sneezing, and sneezing, and sneezing, and I was producing more than my share of mucus. I was a human faucet. Silly me. Instead of taking antihistamines for relief, I tried pouring water up my nose from what looked like a small teapot. I ventured forth, in search of a neti pot. The cashier at Whole Foods was a surfer dude with dreadlocks. He asked, “Are you going to water your ear plants?” What?! “Isn’t the woman in the picture on that box pouring water into her ear?” I explained that, no, she was pouring the water into her nose. Maybe someday I’ll scan the picture for you to see. For now, click here to see the other side of the box.

I had images of sitting cross-legged in a beautiful, open field, listening to soothing, yoga-inspired music, smiling like the woman in the picture on the box, feeling serene. Well, I was in fact leaning over the kitchen sink, my neighbor was blasting oohm-pa-pa Mexican music, and I kept pouring and pouring water up my nose. Where was it going? Why wasn’t it coming out?! Then it ended up in my throat. Yikers! I eventually calmed my breathing and found the correct angle for pouring, and the water came out the other nostril like it was supposed to. My nose felt violated. Perhaps because I had heated tap water in a kettle rather than using distilled water with non-iodized salt.

Of course I did some research on Jala Neti, also known as nasal irrigation. Click here for the yoga perspective or click here for the Western medicine perspective. It’s an ancient Yoga technique. Plus, for many in India and Southeast Asia it’s part of a daily routine like brushing teeth. Benefits of nasal irrigation include all kinds of relief for allergy-sufferers, deeper and more relaxed breathing, improved vision, and avoiding the common cold. Pretty cool, actually. It also improves your blood pressure and your sex life. Okay, I lied. I made up the blood pressure part, and I wish it improved one’s sex life. In any case, I'll try neti for a while and see what happens.