Sinus Hygiene. Really? Neti or Not, Here Winter Comes

Updating in mid December 2014: We all keep learning more, the fund of knowledge available to all grows all the time. My current thinking about any kind of gadget that pushes things up your nose beyond a gentle spray or what you can pull up by snorting it out of the palm of your hand might be things that are fine for people who are well and there are not things being harbored in the sinuses that get pushed further in. As always, I encourage people to do a thorough looking into things before adopting a new strategy, and consult the providers that would be appropriate if necessary. ~ Mardy

Nice article, Faith!  Thank you for taking the time to write it, I hope it will turn people onto new concepts or remind them of old.  

I want to refer people to the piece Robin Thomas wrote about vitamin D and colds, because I believe it has reference made to the thinking about germs and the fall and schools returning having to do with why people get sick, and it actually is looking lately to be more to do with vitamin D levels; fascinating study with Japanese children.  (Link, below).  

I got to thinking about when I learned about the neti pot; it was 1973 and it was a big book with lots of photos about yoga, and it included sinus rinsing with a neti pot and flossing the sinuses!  I just thought that was the craziest thing I'd ever seen!  Water up your nose in the swimming pool was horrible, and to be avoided! And putting STRING up your nose and pulling it out your mouth ... gak! Naturally I didn't go out and get one -- I thought that whole thing looked just CRAZY! BUT, at the time, I didn't have allergies like the rest of my family -- or, I should say, I wasn't aware that I had IgG food allergies that were leading to problems internally, I believe, causing me to develop 'wear and tear' arthritis in my neck at a very early age, I found out in my early adulthood when I had an MRI of my head and neck related to the strange symptoms that turned out to not be MS, thankfully, but fibromyalgia.  

But in my early 20s, after getting a German measles vaccine that unfortunately had a lot of mercury derivative in it, I started getting sinus problems. (It was required to get married at that time in Colorado if a woman didn't have immunity to getting the disease due to it's causing harm to unborn babies if the mother gets the disease while pregnant.)  Cigarette smoke, the toner smell for a photocopier, or being behind a diesel or car with oil being burned with the fuel in the engine would trigger headaches and a feeling in my upper lungs that was not pleasant. I even became allergic to our two cats -- I'd never had any problems with any animals -- I'd been around them and cigarette smoke due to my mother and her mother, my whole life! But I didn't think to utilize a simple neti pot!  I don't know if I saw them again after looking and laughing at that book in my teens or not. I remember seeing them a LOT in the past five to ten years I think.  

Fortunately, I didn't fall into a trap many people do with sinus problems and get 'hooked' on the sinus sprays that should never be used long-term (though they can be helpful for a few days with a cold or a bad allergy 'thing', I've been told by SOME physicians.) But since so many people make the mistake, I wanted to mention it and then distinguish it from the prescription sprays for the nasal passages/sinuses which have a steroid in them; I've been prescribed those for years and years in the past and they worked but I had a copay on them and many people don't like that type of product, or they don't have insurance or have a high copay, so there are some new over the counter products that are exciting!  

The upside of the current economic stresses on people is it is causing a shift to more alternative products and providers, and I personally think they provide more 'functional medicine' -- finding the source and doing something about it.  For example, my working the concept in of food allergies here.  It's not 'just' germs or 'wear and tear on the body' the way allopathic medicine has taught us, it's a LOT to do with what foods we've been eating that our bodies simply don't know what to do with.  Or vitamin D deficiency and other nutritionals like C, as you've mentioned here, and things that stress the body, like not enough rest, relaxation and exercise.    

Related to anything to do with the sinus, my favorite new company of the past two years for this kind of thing is Xlear, Inc. out of Orem, UT.  I'd been using for years NeilMed's sinus rinse -- not "spray", rinse -- about double the amount a neti pot holds in a plastic squeeze bottle.  NeilMed I think is sold in every grocery store, big box and small box drug store, and has very reasonable prices; you can get a five packet starter kit with a bottle for around $4.00.  I have given a LOT away to people to turn them onto this concept.  Yes, if you're one of my friends or house helpers, such as my handiman who maintains my cooler in the spring and fall, when it's allergy season, you get some interesting 'tips' from me! NeilMed even came out with a little plastic neti pot after the bottles! I bought one and just 'do better' with the squeeze bottle, though I think neti pots are more classic and 'neat'.  I know that sounds odd, but they're historic! So I was really glad to see NeilMed added that to their product line. 

I had been getting compounded prescriptions at Walgreens, which had a house brand of the saline packets that were a good price but it wasn't as buffered as the NeilMed, which 'burned'. They have a house brand of guaiffenesen, which thins the mucous and allows your sinuses to drain better, and I use that throughout the year when needed. I'd been pleased with that and thought I'd try their house saline packets too and wasn't so pleased. I looked at the health food store at what they had and found Xclear and purchased some.  It 'feels' the same as the NeilMed product to me, but with the Xylitol, I believe if a person can afford the extra cost it's a good choice to go with.  Their website is www.xlear.com [2] and their products are carried at the company we've had a link to since Day 1 of Lumigrate.com, Vitamin Cottage/Natural Grocers.  (See Products tab).  

They Have netiXlear, which are six ounce packets of saline nasal wash with Xylitol.  The box says "Instant Relief for Nasal & Sinus Passages".  Uses: "Helps cleanse sinus and nasal passages.  Washes away pollutants, irritants, and other airborne contaminants.  Temporarily soothes nasal and sinus discomfort.  Especially useful when nasal passages are plugged.  

Another product they have which was recommended to me by my cranial manual medicine osteopath, Ilene Spector, DO, who I've written about on Lumigrate in the fibromyalgia forum is Xlear's Xylitol Sinus Nasal Spray is for daily use and 'gently cleans, soothes and protects.  Xylitol was developed by Dr Alonzo Jones in 1998, a family physician of the D.O. variety, my D.O. told me, when she recommended this product in a recent appointment when I presented quite miserable during the fall allergy season.  Xylitol is a sweet crystalline carbohydrate that occurs naturally in virtually all fruits and vegetables.  It has powerful benefits to the oral and upper respiratory systems, which come from it's unique five-carbon structure.  Xlear also has wonderful chewing gum and mints for the mouth! (Another topic for another day to focus on!)

(For allergies, she also recommended quercitin, 500 mg, 3x a day on an empty stomach (1 hour before, 2 hours after.  It was funny, as she asked if I'd ever taken it and I didn't think so, but I had heard of it.  I later saw Robin Thomas had included quercitin in a piece she has on Lumigrate about allergies and supplements!  I'll set up the link to that below as well. Quercitin is a flavanol, which is a subclass of flavanoids, and is a potent antioxidant. Naturally, I added two things to my day after I purchased them at Natural Grocers/Vitamin Cottage on my way home, but it was honestly as 'impressive' as when you're needing antibiotics and pick them up on your way home, use them as directed, and feel LOTS better within hours!) 

Why do I have all this experience with sinuses and allergies?  I never had any significant issues before getting fibromyalgia in my 30s. Part of fibromyalgia is a lowering of the immune system, or perhaps part of what causes fibromyalgia is things pulling the immune system down, if you want to look at it that way.  It's kind of a 'chicken and the egg' in a way in my mind to some extent; it's definitely a 'catch 22'. I believe the lowered immune system is secondary to other things not 'functionally correct' with the body's getting proper nutrition into the cells, the hormone system being off, and the person's brain not sleeping properly.  

But getting sick from a cold or flu then takes you down another notch -- then it knocks you out of doing the things that keep you from having your fibromyalgia be at it's worst -- then the person can go into quite a downcycle.  Before having fibromyalgia start in my 30s, I never had a sinus infection or bronchitis.  Getting every cold that went around the first year I was in OT school was one of my FIRST SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS, as was having  problems with my gums.  Unfortunately none of my doctors/dentists knew to tell me to look into nutrition and supplementation.   

They did know that I needed antibiotics for the infections and I wasn't being advised about supplementing the flora in the gut during and after and how to get the gut healthy, because the providers at the time that I was going to weren't versed in that.  And that's a big part of what's going wrong in the body for those with fibromyalgia.  Again, you see the 'catch 22'.  So if you're reading this because you are getting a lot of colds and flu or are getting sicker than you think is what is 'normal' for people, then please take this VERY seriously! I sure wish I had read something like this years ago, maybe I would have reached to resources and 'nipped things in the bud' before things went so haywire.  It's very hard to reverse fibromyalgia.  It can be done, it's just time consuming and costly, directly and indirectly! 

Once, when I was in my first job after graduating, I popped a rib loose when turning my head away from the therapist sitting next to me looking at a chart.  A couple of weeks later, another rib on the other side popped out.  Very painful.  And I had to keep working! There were some days in the years I had fibromyalgia that I literally could not function when I had something come on -- that went on from 1996 to 2004 or so, when I THANKFULLY got sick when out of town and went to the ER/Urgent Care in Telluride, Colorado and it was just a 'fresh pair of eyes' that made things better - the ER doc was one of the first around here to know of 'prednisone blasting' while taking a course of antibiotics; the sinuses are very poorly vascularized so when you take antibiotics when there's swelling, the antibiotics can't get into the sinuses all the way.  You'll see improvement, but it doesn't really knock the infection out, it just leads things to get knocked down and not out -- which isn't a good thing!  This occurred at the time I was finding new MDs and providers who were more helpful than the past ones had been and were taking me steps forward with reversing what was a really bad case of fibromyalgia.  

Thankfully, due to learning so much in the last five or so years, much of which is included at Lumigrate for YOU to benefit from, I've been MUCH better at 50 than I was at 40 or 35, and I no longer dread winter because of all the colds and flu going around that were taking me down the whole winter.  What really 'inspired me' about the overall health, was esthetician Lani Wallace, who writes sometimes at Lumigrate, who has literally not been sick in years and years.  She eats well, exercises, sleeps, nourishes her soul, supplements minimally but with good products and that includes probiotic.  She made me realize that I'd NEVER been THAT healthy, but it is possible! She didn't hesitate to do a facial on me in years prior when I was coming down with a cold, which is when I believe people are contagious.  That inspired me! And I haven't been 'flattened' by a cold or flu for over two years now.  I use the above strategies, and then when I do feel something 'coming on', I use Umcka.  You'll see a piece on that in the colds/flu forum.  

Well, young Faith, you see that you set me up for my usual 'much to say about something'.  But I think this is important information to get to people!  Thank you again for getting the ball going.  I'd be interested in the history of the neti pot, actually!  Do you have anything on that? Is it from the AyurVedic traditional medicine? That's just my guess.  ~~ GrateFullY! Mardy 

Link to the neighboring forum in this section that has much about colds/flu/prevention/treatment: 

www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/colds-flu-bugs-sinusallergies-alternatives-immunizations/colds-and-flu [3]

One of the pieces in the above forum which substantiates much of what Faith and I have said, above is by Robin Thomas and from USANA, which is known for quality products and information from a big research team that Robin's found to be a good group (she has a background in medical research and her husband is also a researcher related to environmental issues.)  www.lumigrate.com/forum/cold-and-flu-season-strategies [4]

IF my details about increased colds potentially being a symptom of what could be leading to fibromyalgia, here's the link to the section here in Forums about it (or you can just click on Forums and scroll down a bit, it's very big and has LOTS in it!) www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/fibromyalgia-chronic-pain-and-chronic-fatigue/exhaustion [5]

If you'd like to order any of the Xlear/Xylitol products I've talked about, or look at the prices, I'm providing the link to that area of Vitamin Cottage/Natural Grocer's website. They also sell neti pots, if you click around. But I also suggest getting the plastic one or plastic bottle from NeilMed.  Lots of choices! www.naturalgrocers.com/search/apachesolr_search/xlear [6]

Note, Faith Young was young and rather a ball in motion. With an interest in writing and a need to earn money while in college and with first jobs as she was having, we trialed with a few pieces at the time this one was written. I like to see people getting links, history, and as is seen here, that was not corrected / added in upon my request. So as a YOUser reads around the forums of Lumigrate, they'll see the layers of when we did different things. All made Lumigrate appealing in different ways to different people and hopefully provides us today with a lot of diversity to our topics so there's something for everyone.  But as we went forward I wanted things to be vetted and sources and with links for further learning from good sources.  It was faster and better for me to then go to providing all the content for a while, which is what I did for most of 2013 and all of 2014. I look forward to what 2015 brings. AND thank all who have contributed each step of the way. It's been a 'village'.  ~ Mardy