To Netty Pot or not Netty Pot that is the question

Netty Pot is used in the personal hygiene practice in which the nasal cavity is washed to flush out excess mucus and debris from the nose and sinuses. It has been practised in India for centuries as one of the disciplines of yoga. Clinical testing has shown that this practice is safe and beneficial with no significant side effects. Nasal irrigation in a wider sense can also refer to the use of saline nasal spray or nebulizers to moisten the mucus membranes.

The simplest technique is to snort water from cupped hands. Spraying the solution into the nostrils is more convenient, but also less effective. The most effective methods ensure that the liquid enters through one nostril and then either runs out of the other nostril or goes through the nasal cavity to the back of the throat from where it may be spat out. The necessary pressure comes from gravity, from condensing a plastic bottle or a syringe, or from an electrical pump.

Warm salt water is commonly used, often with sodium bicarbonate as a buffering agent. Optional additives include xylitol for killing bacteria that have accumulated in the nose.

The simplest method, in that it does not require any equipment, is to snort water from cupped hands. The application of commercially available saline nasal spray is another simple alternative, but it is relatively inefficient.

A simple yet effective technique is to pour saline into one nostril and let it run out through the other. This is an old Ayurvedic technique known as jala neti, and the container used to administer the saline is called a neti pot. (Neti is Sanskrit for “nasal cleansing”. A second neti technique known as sutra neti uses a piece of string instead of water.) Neti pots are traditionally made of metal, glass or ceramic. Some modern variants available from chemists are made of flexible plastic and can be condensed to exert additional pressure. If a bulb syringe is used instead, the user has complete control over the pressure.

It is also possible to use an electrical irrigation device, which pumps the solution through a flexible tube, in connection with a nasal adapter. In the United States such devices are available for home use. The more expensive devices that produce a pulsating flow have been used in some studies, but their efficacy was not compared to the nasal irrigation methods that produce a steady flow through constant positive pressure.

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