Salt Water in Humidifier

The Bonneville Salt Flats, got it's name due to the first car to blow it's engine and pour all the oil into the salt. Jim

It was names by a Ford Owner.

momadams wrote:"I'm puttin' phytoplankton in my humidifier. Miss that ocean...

_________________

And if you have a night time hunger craving, you could just eat the plankton!

Hmmm, Gonzo, not to get off-topic again, but I can't help but think there's gotta be something outrageously funny that can be said including the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Great Salt Lake, McDonald's french fires, CO2 buildup, cflex, taping and glueing and vapor pressure!! But I'm gonna resist.

The original question was actually a pretty good one, all things considered. This thread has been a darn good science lesson, at least regarding the phytoplankton odor (for me, anyway).

Have a great night, ya'll!

Kajun

Like others said, putting salt in the tank designed for distilled would not be a good idea, however if the patient has clogged sinuses, rinsing the nose/sinuses with a neti pot (available at healthfood stores) and homemade saline (1/4 tsp uniodized salt per cup of water) would probably be benificial.

Oprah and her Dr. Oz just talked about it a few months ago and I have heard since then neti pot sales have skyrocketed and healthfood stores are having trouble keeping them on the shelves. It helps me when I have cold or allergy symptoms. It is very satisfying (albeit gross) to see all the gunk that you couldn't get out by blowing just flow out of your nose in a stream of salt water. And it is always nice to be able to breath!

Studies have shown nasal saline rinsing to be more effective in reducing nasal inflammation than nasal steroid sprays. No meds and natural!

Jen

socknitster wrote:...........
Studies have shown nasal saline rinsing to be more effective in reducing nasal inflammation than nasal steroid sprays. ......

Jen

Do you have the source of this information? I would like to show it to my prescription drug-dependent friend.

rooster wrote:

socknitster wrote:...........
Studies have shown nasal saline rinsing to be more effective in reducing nasal inflammation than nasal steroid sprays. ......

Jen

Do you have the source of this information? I would like to show it to my prescription drug-dependent friend.

Yes, Rooster, there is lots of info out there. I actually read so much I couldn't tell you exactly where I read that. I actually think I have come across this info many times. the http://www.drweil.com
website is probably another place where I have read about it.

Rinsing with a neti pot feels far better than nasal steroid spray ever did and I can say from experience having used both methods for years.

A little off topic, the dr. weil I mentioned is an md who specializes in wholistic medicine and has interesting medical advice on lots of topics. On some things he is very mainstream, on others, when there is scientific evidence to support it, he will advocate herbs or other things. When I was diagnosed with apnea, I searched his site to see what he had to say about it. He says, like everyone else, cpap is the gold standard.

Jen

RE: Neti pot vs. syringe for saline nasal wash

My allergist/immunologist was ahead of the game on this one, as he started recommending the use of a nasal wash over 10 years ago. In view of the Oprah/Dr. Oz show recommending the neti pot, I specifically asked my doctor about that on Tuesday at my yearly appointment.

He was absolute in stating that it did not matter. Using the syringe was just as effective, in his opinion anyway. When asked if the neti pot was any better, he said, and I do quote him, "It doesn't matter."

My doctor has further prescribed a compounded prescription of medical-type saline solution with small amounts of 3 antibiotics needed, which did help me to avoid sinus infections when teaching. Those little ones would run around and start coughing and then came to cough in front of me, telling me that they were coughing! Thanks for sharing those germs!

Anyway, I now make my own saline solution fresh daily from a recipe found on the University of Michigan Medical Center website. Click Here for Saline Recipe Reference

Here is what I do:

-1/8 teaspoon regular table salt, iodized or not--but I usually use a sea salt because I prefer that.

-1/2 cup of warm water

-1 pinch of baking soda

I then use about 10 cc in a syringe SANS needle and shoot the solution up into each nostril. I prefer using a child's dosing syringe, as it has a short nozzle and gets the saline into the nostril a bit farther. Dosing syringes may be purchased at almost any pharmacy, but the Target pharmacies have given me one free whenever I've asked where to find them.

This saline nasal wash is to be done twice a day. However, I do find that I forget to use it for days, then get right back onto the schedule.

Best to you all,

Karen

I have a squeeze pressure bottle that I have been using for a couple of years. Just squirt it into one nostril until it comes out of the other one. This was recommended by my sleep doc.

birdshell wrote:RE: Neti pot vs. syringe for saline nasal wash

My allergist/immunologist was ahead of the game on this one, as he started recommending the use of a nasal wash over 10 years ago. In view of the Oprah/Dr. Oz show recommending the neti pot, I specifically asked my doctor about that on Tuesday at my yearly appointment.

He was absolute in stating that it did not matter. Using the syringe was just as effective, in his opinion anyway. When asked if the neti pot was any better, he said, and I do quote him, "It doesn't matter."

My doctor has further prescribed a compounded prescription of medical-type saline solution with small amounts of 3 antibiotics needed, which did help me to avoid sinus infections when teaching. Those little ones would run around and start coughing and then came to cough in front of me, telling me that they were coughing! Thanks for sharing those germs!

Anyway, I now make my own saline solution fresh daily from a recipe found on the University of Michigan Medical Center website. Click Here for Saline Recipe Reference

Here is what I do:

-1/8 teaspoon regular table salt, iodized or not--but I usually use a sea salt because I prefer that.

-1/2 cup of warm water

-1 pinch of baking soda

I then use about 10 cc in a syringe SANS needle and shoot the solution up into each nostril. I prefer using a child's dosing syringe, as it has a short nozzle and gets the saline into the nostril a bit farther. Dosing syringes may be purchased at almost any pharmacy, but the Target pharmacies have given me one free whenever I've asked where to find them.

This saline nasal wash is to be done twice a day. However, I do find that I forget to use it for days, then get right back onto the schedule.

Best to you all,

Karen

I use this one - http://www.nasalineusa.com/

socknitster wrote:...............

Studies have shown nasal saline rinsing to be more effective in reducing nasal inflammation than nasal steroid sprays. ...........

Jen

Don't get me wrong, I have used nasal rinses for years and bought a neti pot which I find a cheap, easy and very effective way of performing the rinse.

Like you say, it does clean out stuff I would rather not have inside me and provides considerable relief. Pollen bothers me and if I have been outside exposed to the pollen, the rinse does a great job when I come in for the evening of getting any pollen-containing mucous rinsed out. Then it helps to take a shower to get any pollen off my body and especially out of my hair.

As good as the saline rinses are, they will not address underlying inflammation the way nasal steroid sprays will. We had an unusual weather pattern this spring and the local allergists are saying it was one of the worst springs for allergy sufferers (My memory is bad, but don't they say that every year?).

The last few years I have been so tired from undiagnosed apnea that I usually hire the trimming of my shrubbery. This year I felt well enough that I rented a power trimmer and spent six hours doing it myself. I did not wear a dust mask and if you can imagine six hours of chopping up shrubbery coated with pollen right in my face, you may be able to imagine what my sinuses were like that evening.

I needed two or three neti pot rinses every day and the nasal steroid spray once per day for three weeks before my sinuses returned to normal.

While I will always try the rinse first, there are times when the underlying inflammation cannot be relieved without a steroid nasal spray.

[quote="DreamStalker"]

I use this one - http://www.nasalineusa.com/

Rooster said:

(My memory is bad, but don't they say that every year?)

They most certainly do. EVERY year!

Jen

rooster wrote:

socknitster wrote:...............

Studies have shown nasal saline rinsing to be more effective in reducing nasal inflammation than nasal steroid sprays. ...........

Jen

<snip>

As good as the saline rinses are, they will not address underlying inflammation the way nasal steroid sprays will.
<snip>

While I will always try the rinse first, there are times when the underlying inflammation cannot be relieved without a steroid nasal spray.

Oh, my relative rooster! LOL! (We are NOT actually related, but our nicknames are!)

I should have said that I also use Flonase once or twice per day year round in addition to the nasal wash with a normal saline solution. Both are prescribed by the same allergist/immunologist. He tells me to use the nasal wash first, then use the spray.

Thank you for adding that steroid nasal sprays are a useful adjunct to the nasal wash.

Breathe well, all--

Karen

Hey Karen, I KNOW YOU ARE NOT A DOCTOR, I'm just asking as a friend, and I PROMISE NOT TO SUE YOU!!!

That said - I only use my Flonase in the AM. I was thinking of using the nasal wash in the PM. I tried it once, didn't do it right, and need to try it again. Got the NeilMed bottle from recommendations I read here. Appears to be fully stocked at my local Walgreen's. Same thing as the Neti Pot, just different delivery systems.

Do you do the nasal rinse in the AM before your Flonase? Do you wait any interval between rinse and Flonase?

Many many thanks!!!
Barbara