Nasal rinse "tricks"

[Drowsy Dancer]

OK, folks, for science, I did this analysis.

First, the data.

In a major metropolitan area I located the following items:

At Walgreen, I found 100 packets of Neilmed saline premix packets @ 2.16 grams per packet, or 216 grams of total product for $14.99.

At QFC, I found Kroger (house brand) non-iodized salt, 26 oz. for $0.59.
At QFC, I found Kroger (house brand) baking soda, 16 oz. for $0.85.

I mix my own buffered solution, as I noted earlier, in a 1:1 ratio, which means I only need 16 oz. of the 26 oz. of salt I purchased. Because 26 oz. of salt cost me $0.59, 16 oz. cost me $0.363.

32 OUNCES of my personal premix costs $1.213 versus
216 GRAMS of Neilmed for $14.99.

There are 28.3495 GRAMS in 1 OUNCE. In the next post I will demonstrate the relative cost of the two products in constant units.

[Drowsy Dancer]

To continue the analysis,

32 oz (or two pounds) of my personal premix costs $1.213
907.184 grams for $1.213 versus
216.000 grams for $14.99

Let's put it this way. If I were paying Neilmed prices for my premix I would be paying $62.96 for the same amount of product that I put together for a buck twenty one.

That's a hell of a lot to pay for convenience.

[Drowsy Dancer]

and water to salt-bakingsoda?

This is based on the volume of water my neti pot holds, which is 6 fluid oz. I use a potful for each nostril. I use *about* 1/2 t. to 12 fluid oz. of water, which is a mildly hypertonic solution.

One Neilmed packet makes 8 fluid ounces of isotonic solution. They look to have about 1/4 t. of powder in them.

If you want, I can weigh my 1/4 t. of solution to see how close it comes to the 2.16 grams in one Neilmed packet.

[Drowsy Dancer]

Finally, here's a previous thread on isotonic versus hypertonic solutions:

viewtopic/t71887/Sinus-rinse--success-w ... ution.html

[palerider]

To continue the analysis,

32 oz (or two pounds) of my personal premix costs $1.213
907.184 grams for $1.213 versus
216.000 grams for $14.99

Let's put it this way. If I were paying Neilmed prices for my premix I would be paying $62.96 for the same amount of product that I put together for a buck twenty one.

That's a hell of a lot to pay for convenience.

I'm starting to think you don't have the same neilmed sponsorship deal that englandsf does.

[Greg Riddle]

I forgot to note earlier that I also learned about Alkalol on these boards. A little bit of that goes a long way.

U tried the 50% alkalol solution once. Well never do it again

[Sal_In_Ga]

I have have also tried to make my own mix but it was very uncomfortable. I use the Alkalol but just a wee bit to top off the squeeze bottle to the fill line. Works great as long as I am careful not to use too much. One of those times where you read the instructions carefully, then do what works best for you. I also stick with warm distilled water as chemically treated water will irritate seriously my sinuses.

[archangle]

Neilmed Sinus Rinse is basically a more convenient form of neti. I'm sure you can find plenty of online recipes for neti.

When I do Sinus Rinse, I use my own salt/baking soda mix. After a little tinkering, I found a concentration that works best for me. I need to go look, but I found a measuring spoon that's the right size. I forget the mix, but I've probably got it written down somewhere. I got the formula from my doctor.

One thing the doctor specified was to get "pickling" salt, because even non-iodized table salt has some other ingredients such as anti-caking agents.

As for the cost of the packets, I don't see a big deal. It's convenient when I travel or maybe when I want to use it at work. Or when I'm somewhere that people might wonder what I'm snorting up my nose.

[rosacer]

I agree Neilmed is expensive I just bought a box 100 for $20 + 15% tax = very expensive here in the North

My concern is once I read somebody had an infection of some kind in the sinuses because of nasal rinse with tap water. So, I was wondering how safe is it to rinse with a home made mix of bicarbonate and non iodized not additives salt ?

Once I tried the salt sold for Neti pot at the natural store and it was as expensive as Neilmed...


DD, thanks very much for the calculations.

[Guest]

My concern is once I read somebody had an infection of some kind in the sinuses because of nasal rinse with tap water. So, I was wondering how safe is it to rinse with a home made mix of bicarbonate and non iodized not additives salt ?

I use distilled water not tap; since distilled is always on hand.

[palerider]

My concern is once I read somebody had an infection of some kind in the sinuses because of nasal rinse with tap water.

it's the swamp water in louisiana that's a hazard, because it's got brain eating critters crawling around in it.

doesn't matter whether you use fancy spendy packets, or home-made solutions.

[Drowsy Dancer]

I agree Neilmed is expensive I just bought a box 100 for $20 + 15% tax = very expensive here in the North

My concern is once I read somebody had an infection of some kind in the sinuses because of nasal rinse with tap water. So, I was wondering how safe is it to rinse with a home made mix of bicarbonate and non iodized not additives salt ?

Once I tried the salt sold for Neti pot at the natural store and it was as expensive as Neilmed...


DD, thanks very much for the calculations.

The chemical composition of my homemade mix is the same as Neilmed.

Always use distilled water, whether you are reconstituting Neilmed or a home brew.

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/Consume ... 316375.htm

[Drowsy Dancer]

I'm starting to think you don't have the same neilmed sponsorship deal that englandsf does.

No, I tried to negotiate one and they said they didn't need any more proponents.

I'm still waiting for my checks from Big Pharma for advocating vaccines.

[archangle]

I agree Neilmed is expensive I just bought a box 100 for $20 + 15% tax = very expensive here in the North

My concern is once I read somebody had an infection of some kind in the sinuses because of nasal rinse with tap water. So, I was wondering how safe is it to rinse with a home made mix of bicarbonate and non iodized not additives salt ?

Once I tried the salt sold for Neti pot at the natural store and it was as expensive as Neilmed...


DD, thanks very much for the calculations.

The big concern was about Naegleria fowleri. It's a scary "brain eating" disease. It's rarely found in tap water. There have only ever been 2 or 3 cases of people in the US getting Naegleria infections from from tap water.

It's much more common from swimming or water sports in unchlorinated or poorly chlorinated water.

There have only been 132 reported cases of Naegleria infections in the US in the past 50 years, with 34 between 2004 and 2014. Call it 4 cases per year or a 1 in 80 million chance per year, and that mostly comes from swimming in untreated water.

You are exposed to the tap water you're drinking all the time. You drink it, get it in your throat, spray the residue up into your nose if you sneeze, inhale it as a fine mist when you shower, etc. You do increase the risk with nasal irrigation a bit because you do have more concentrated doses of tap water in the parts nose where Naegleria tends to get into the body.

If you're worried, use distilled water, or boil the water first.

There is also the risk of "normal" infections if you don't clean your equipment or have contaminated water.

-- Salt Mix

No need to use special salt, just get salt without additives. I use cheap Morton's canning and pickling salt. It says on the box that there are no additives. I think it was around $1 for what's probably a year's supply.

I'd check that the baking soda has no additives, either. Note: Baking SODA, not baking POWDER, which has other stuff in it.

My doctor's recipe was 3 heaping teaspoons salt to 1 rounded teaspoon baking soda. I hate those imprecise terms. "Heaping," "rounded" and unspecified teaspoons. I guess that means about a 4 to 1 mix.

http://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-tre ... ecipe.aspx

It says to use 1 teaspoon per cup of water. I use a 1/3 teaspoon measuring spoon per Sinus Rinse container. It feels like the right balance in terms of being "neutral" in terms of not stinging. I don't pay a lot of attention to level vs. rounded scoop. I'll occasionally use a little stronger solution.

[CMM]

Tap water should be fine to use, as long as you boil it first. The chloride boils off and any microorganisms are gone. I'll usually boil several days worth and store it in a jug after it cools.