The beautiful blossoms of spring are in full bloom everywhere and the warmer weather beckons us outside to play and be active. I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to sneeze a little more and my nose is getting itchy. Ah, the drawback of spring— hay fever.
The trick to managing allergies is to reduce inflammation. You need to stop the inflammatory process before it gets out of hand and produces the bothersome symptoms of hay fever such as sneezing, itchy eyes and nose, congestion and fatigue.
Here’s a very effective trick to stop the inflammation in your respiratory track: use a nasal rinse or Neti pot daily during pollen season to keep the nasal passages clean and less irritated.
After hiking, biking, running or other prolonged outdoor exposure, rinsing the nasal passages will clean out the pollens which are stuck inside the nose and will significantly reduce the inflammatory process to help keep symptoms at bay.
Neti is Sanskrit for “nasal cleansing,” an old yogic technique from India. Neti pots are typically made of metal, glass, ceramic or plastic and the idea is to pour a salt water solution into one nostril and let it run out through the other while the mouth is kept open to breathe, using gravity as an aid. The nasal cavity is washed to flush out pollens, mucus and debris from the nose and sinuses which cause inflammation.
Typically saline is used, however, you may want to use a high-grade Himalayan salt or organic sea salt—table salt can be too harsh. Another great product is called Alkalol, an herbal solution that dissolves mucus, cleans and moisturizes the nasal airways, and provides relief to agitated sinus, nasal passage and throat tissue. There are also many pre-made sinus rinse kits you can buy from your local pharmacy.
Even though it may not sound appealing, nasal cleansing is very effective to manage allergies, sinus pressure and infections, swelling, congestion and irritation from pollens, animal dander, dust and other allergens. Remember the trick: reduce the inflammatory process.