Nope, not having trouble with a re-established bread habit -- compared to what some people report, i'm fortunate to not find breads and desserts "trigger foods." Not having trouble with alcohol or other recreational drugs. Not even having trouble with reverting from hedonism to my usual, simple diet. It's the decongestant.
When i'm feeling like hell-warmed-over as the result of a virus, you can bet your ass i'll resort to chemical means to get a good night's sleep! I'll swill Nyquil -- nasty stuff! -- even though it contains acetaminophen, and i'll use Afrin even though it's habit-forming. But when the cold/flu is conquered, it's time to go back to the "natural" congestion-reducing methods that fail so spectacularly when we need them the most.
The good news, of course, is that the week-old addiction isn't really ESTABLISHED. If i remember correctly, back to my ignorant youth, it would take a few days to get over it; but now i'm older and more experienced ... if not actually wiser. ;-) Now i own a neti-pot! I can't tell you what a wonderful thing this is, if you've never used one before. And if you've never used one, my description of it to you may gross you out a bit -- it did, when i was praising it to a nurse friend in Utah.
Before the n.p., i used a bowl of steaming water, with or without an aromatic assistant like tea-tree oil, menthol, or eucalyptus. I must say the hot, moist air was soothing to the throat and other tissues as well as the sinuses! Probably did my skin some good, too. The neti, though, is a much faster and easier technique, and doesn't mess up my hair ... any worse than it was before, that is (i'm desperately in need of a haircut right now). A quarter-teaspoon of kosher salt, some very-warm water, a sink and two kleenexes, and relief is in sight. When i'm traveling, i have an old "pump mist" nasal-sprayer that i refill with plain old saline solution which performs adequately -- and i don't need the sink.
If you have sinus issues and have never tried irrigation, i recommend it strongly. I used to get sinus infections a couple of times a year, but between the neti-pot and the herbs i used, they're a rarity any more -- i think i've had ONE in the last ten years. But any time the allergies are bad or if i catch a bug, out comes the n.p. and i'm better soon.
My pot will get a workout today, but i anticipate NOT waking up tomorrow as i did today -- mouth-breathing. :-P
I am a big Neti-Pot fan also. My brother-in-law asked me, how willing are you to get some relief? He pointed me to a YouTube video and the process didn't look to bad. Got one at the local CVS and it does a great job.
ReplyDelete:-) the part that my friend objected to was, what happens if you're so clogged it doesn't drain out the other nostril.... i mean, if you've ever had draining sinuses, you've already had that stuff in your mouth!
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