Can A Nasal Rinse Be Used ~ Deviated Septum?

[Guest]

I have never used a nasal rinse but I bought one called NeilMed.. Does anyone use this that has a deviated septum? My right side is and always has been stuffy, small amount of air goes in and out, and I always have a constant plugged up right ear with pressure in it and pressure also in my head, I have to constantly open my mouth to try to get my ear to pop !...

[6PtStar]

I use Neilmed every night at least an hour before I mask up. My ENT Dr put me on it. It has made a lot of difference. I love it. I don't know if I have a deviated septum or not (he has never told me)but my Doc seemed to indicate it would help regardless.

Jerry

[sharon1965]

i use the NeilMed kit, but i had a septoplasty...have you considered having your septum repaired? i had mine done in april and have been thrilled with the results

many folks on these boards have had it done also and have very positive reactions

[marymoon]

You can, but it won't be a quick, clean process. When I had a deviated septum, I used a Neti Pot for my nasal rinses. My left nostril was the one blocked and the rinse would not flow from the right to the left because of it. It just backed up and ran back out the right side or out of my mouth. When I poured from the left to right, it would actually go thru, but very slowly.

I had a septoplasty and some other sinus work done at the end of July. Once the splints came out, I started using the NeilMed bottle for my rinses and could move a whole 8oz of water thru each nostril in seconds! The surgery made a world of difference in so many ways!

Lately, I've been having sinus issues again and when I rinse, it's starting to back up again on the left side. I've heard that sometimes the surgery needs to be repeated and I've got an appointment with my ENT Tuesday to see if that's the case.

[Guest]

I had a septoplasty done in 1980 and was told a couple of years ago that I needed it done again. I can breathe well through one nostril and only a little through the other. Sometimes they are both open. Why this happens and when it happens is a mystery, but I'm not going to have the surgery again.

[Snoredog]

I only have to use it ever couple weeks, but yes you can use it with a deviated septum, in fact flushing out with saline is good for your nose, gets rid of those allergen stuck to the nasal cavity walls that cause inflammation and congestion.

Neilmed has the same stuff in it you can make for pennies. I use RO water from under the sink, nuke it for 30-seconds and flush things out.

[Guest]

I only have to use it ever couple weeks, but yes you can use it with a deviated septum, in fact flushing out with saline is good for your nose, gets rid of those allergen stuck to the nasal cavity walls that cause inflammation and congestion.

Neilmed has the same stuff in it you can make for pennies. I use RO water from under the sink, nuke it for 30-seconds and flush things out.

THANKS SNOREDOG, I was waiting around for your response and I am thankful you read my post, and THANKS TO EVERYONE ELSE that responded, I appreciate all of your feedback and I will go and TRY IT as I HAVEN'T EVER PUT LIQUID IN MY NOSE, and i'm afraid of "A POSSIBLE DROWNING" at my address , If I don't respond back by tomorrow, you'll know what happened !

[DreamDiver]

I only have to use it ever couple weeks, but yes you can use it with a deviated septum, in fact flushing out with saline is good for your nose, gets rid of those allergen stuck to the nasal cavity walls that cause inflammation and congestion.

Neilmed has the same stuff in it you can make for pennies. I use RO water from under the sink, nuke it for 30-seconds and flush things out.

SleepyNoMore,

I had a deviated septum and used a neti pot for years. Sometimes, it was the only thing that would give me relief from a stuffy nose. I didn't use it every day, but I've known people who did. Now, after septoplasty, I rarely need to.

This is my neti pot recipe: 1 pint filtered water and 1 level teaspoon of sea salt. This approximates saline. Nuke it in a pint-size pyrex measuring cup for one minute. Wait until it's just barely lukewarm - about five, ten minutes. Pour it into the neti pot. Drain away.

"You never want to wash [human] tissue without having saltwater in them," [Dr. Oz] says. "Your own cells like it more." [He] says washing out your sinuses with regular water can be irritating. Cold water may make you feel like you're drowning in a pool.

I know they say you should pour from one nare to the other in a passive rinse, but just letting it dribble out would never really rinse the back of my sinuses. Often, I would plug up the opposite nare, fill up the sinuses and tilt my head back and gently bobble my head around. Then I'd let it drain into the sink. For me, it was the only way to get all the gunk out.

I suspect the only really dangerous thing about doing this is losing my balance while my head is back. Your nose breathes in all sorts of stuff all day long, and swimming in a stream or lake probably introduces more harmful things to your sinuses than filtered water and processed sea salt. Sinuses are pretty resilient considering what we toss at them.

I still occasionally use the neti pot. It's great.

[DreamDiver]

Having used a lot of products for nasal irrigation, I'm tempted to give some experience:

I've used these prepared products:
Simply Saline Sterile Saline Mist - red and white can - low pressure aerosol
Ayr Sterile saline mist - squeeze bottle

The Simply Saline is .9% saline - this is the easiest on the nose because it is exactly .9% sodium chloride in solution. Water and salt are the only ingredients. There is virtually no sting, even with room-temperature water. It's also nice to be able to spray water all the way to the back of the sinuses in a gentle spray - not a mist. It really soaks gently, and it's easier to tilt your head back with a spray than with a neti pot.

The Ayr includes .65% sodium chloride plus "Monobasic Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Hydroxide Buffer, Benzalkonium Chloride [and] Deionized Water". It's not as nasal passage friendly as Simply Saline, but the fact that it's lower salt than saline has an interesting effect. It's slightly better than straight saline at removing gunk from your nose due to the effects of osmosis. The phlegm in your sinuses loosens and detaches from your nasal passages better as sodium ions attempt to cross the from inside the tissue (higher concentration) to outside (lower concentration).

Hence, at one point, I was getting great rinse results by first using the simply saline to rinse the passages, then using Ayr to flush the gunk out.

This was especially helpful after septoplasty when it was more important to use sterile solutions due to the cuts and stitches from surgery.

[lilsheba]

I had a septoplasty in August and really started to use the NeilMed sinus rinse bottle after that. I wasn't in the habit of rinsing my sinuses out before but since the surgery I'm doing it once or twice a day and it helps me out a lot. I had a sinus infection recently but I it wasn't bad at all and didn't last for months like they used to. And my allergies are now non existent. I used to have really bad fall allergies....and I don't miss them

[rpeck]

I had a deviated septum, which was fixed a couple years ago.

Both before and after I've been a very happy user of the Grossan
attachment that works with a Water-Pik. I need it a lot mess after
the surgery, but still find it to be very helpful when I am coming
down with a cold.

I also sometimes use his enzyme tablets, which are really great
at breaking down phlegm in the mouth and throat. They are so
effective that often I only need half a capsule.

I use his powdered salt and am still on the original recipe. I do not
like the newer salt he sells, which has some sweetener in it. Tastes
like sugar-free candy (with salt). :-( Once I run out of the old kind
I guess I'll just switch to a clean sea salt (not Salt de Mer or similar
less-refined salts, which are great for food but probaby not so great
up one's nose ;-)

I also occasionally use Simply Saline, especially when I'm away
from home.

[hiriaeth]

I used a seasalt spray after my septoplasty earlier this year. Personally the septoplasty really altered my life. Before it I was always stuffed up and walking around with my mouth open to breath, also snorting (not nice in polite company) but not realising I was doing it. It took my wife to do a camcorder video of me to realise how loud my snorting was. Anyway that has all gone now and I can breath again. The spray really helped the healing process and I still use it occaisionally now when get a stuffed up nose. I also discovered that my son aged 16 months loves it too and it has transformed his sleeping and gets rid of those horrid bits of gunk that keep him awake. He now comes to get his nose sprayed each night and relishes it.
Good luck and really consider a septoplasty if your doc thinks it would help.

[SleepyNoMore]

Hi All, Well i'm still alive and kicking , I thought I might not be here today to report back on the Nasal Rinse experience, I always heard that 1 tbs. of water would kill you but now I realize you have to inhale it very deep for that to happen (ends up in your lungs) . Wow, what an experience that was, I was shaking in my house shoes but got through it. My right nostril must be at least 85% collapsed, I couldn't hardly get any rinse through it, so it mainly drained from my mouth and the left nostril. It didn't do much good on either side, just a small amout drained from the good side as I have severe dryness in both nostrils, Ayr nasal gel just dries out as soon as I apply it and I put alot! I had my CT Scan last tuesday and they said it would take 2 days for the report to be sent to the ENT Doctor but of course, I've heard nada, that's the (norm) around that office. Those chicks don't like to work, they just sit around chomping on their gum and twisting their hair Yes, I do have a deviated septum, he told me on my 1st. visit Sept. 6 (and only visit this far) after he did the laproscopy thing he pulled on me that I needed UPPP, tonsils removed and Deviated Septum Surgery. But, I won't let then do a UPPP or Tonsilectomy, no way, just the Septum Surgery. A BIG "THANKS" to all of you that responded and I love reading all your feedbacks not just on my problems but everyone's as well, I just get sucked in on this forum, it is so great and the people are just to awesome. Thanks

[Snoredog]

I like to add the "pinch" of baking soda to the water, it breaks everything down and it runs out freely. I tilt my head back so it can get up deep in the sinuses.

I also warm the water in the microwave for 30-seconds in the glass (check yours), for me it is just like swimming when your head clears.

if you decide to make your own, I prefer RO (Reverse Osmosis water) I get from under the sink. I wouldn't use city tap water, that has nitrates, chlorine, fluorides and what else they can add and/or not remove.

this is what I use:

[lilsheba]

Reverse Osmosis water????