Review: SinuCleanse Neti Pot and Squeeze

Here I go again…guinea pig….trouper…good sport…what the heck have I agreed to this time…? Pouring saline solution up my nose? Yikes!

Do you suffer from allergies or sometimes have difficulty breathing?  My brother suffers from both and he’s been using a Neti Pot for months now.  He LOVES it.  He RAVES about it. He goes on and on about how great it is.  I’m kind of embarrassed to admit we’ve had long talks about the pot, our noses and the yucky things that come out.

And me?

It sounds icky.

Pouring something up my nose?  (and what goes up, must come down, right? Ick. Ick. ICK!)

Um….no. No thanks.

Nuh, uh.

Sian or Sue or Erica can do this one.

Sian? Sue? Erica?

…No? What do you mean, no?

…um, hello? Ladies? Where’d you go?

I’m secretly curious anyway.  I wonder if the SinuCleanse Neti Pot or squeeze bottle would aid my own breathing and perhaps make a positive difference when I run.  I don’t suffer from allergies other than seasonal hay fever, but I do have a problem with restricted nasal passages and find that I breathe through my mouth a lot.

And hey, it can’t be that bad…can it?

For this review I’m using the SinuCleanse Squeeze bottle and my above-mentioned brother has care and control of the SinuCleanse Neti Pot.   It’s all his, and mine’s all mine.  Even though they’re dishwasher safe (no, I’m not kidding), it’s just not a tool I’m gonna share with someone else.

Before I get on to the review, here’s a bit of info on SinuCleanse, both the Neti Pot and the squeeze bottle:

Nasal irrigation has been proven to nasal irrigation has proven to be effective in treating cold and flu symptoms as well as stopping the recurrence of colds and flu. It has also been shown to help reduce the dependency upon medication for treatment of allergies.

The SinuCleanse® system offers an effective, all-natural way to cleanse the nose and help control sinus and nasal symptoms over time. It promotes and maintains sinonasal health by treating the root cause of the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms.

The 100% all-natural saline solution used with the SinuCleanse® system soothes on contact and provides safe and immediate sinus relief. It is completely natural and contains no harmful additives, such as preservatives, anti-caking agents, or iodine, which are commonly found in most saline solutions. Because of this, the SinuCleanse® system can be used as often as needed to manage and prevent sinus congestion.

Because SinuCleanse® in 100% all natural, with no preservatives, the SinuCleanse® system can be used as a complement to current sinus medication and even help intensify the effectiveness of sinus medication.

SinuCleanse Squeeze Bottle

In the box is a squeeze bottle that is dishwasher safe (!), 30 packets of saline solution and an instruction pamphlet.  Basically, you  mix warm tap water with a packet (or 2) of the saline solution, which is composed of Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Chloride.  Then it instructs you to shake well,  look down in the sink, point the bottle at the back of your head and gently squeeze the bottle up one side of your nose and wait for it to come out the other nostril. Repeat on the other side. (read the instructions yourself, though, k?)

Riiiiiight.  I read the instructions over a few times and lost my nerve.  I called my cheerleader brother for a little support and advice.  Here’s what he said:

Mel, I have three tips for you. Follow them and you’ll be fine:

• First, make sure your tap water is not too hot and not too cold.  You don’t want to feel any shock from the water as it goes in your nose. Trust me on this.
  
• Second, make sure you mix the saline solution REALLY well before you use it. Otherwise, it will feel like squeezing sand up your nose.  Don’t go there.
  
• And third, whatever you do, do NOT, I repeat, do NOT forget to breathe through your mouth only.  If you forget this and breathe through your nose, you are in for a rough ride, sis.

Reassuring. As always.

Turns out his tips were great. I had no problem at all and the whole sensation was a bit of a let down, since I was all geared up to feel something nasty.  It just wasn’t that bad.  Not bad at all, actually. Just a weird feeling as the water travels around in there. (hello? anyone home in there? hello?) I do have to admit I’m a bit proud at how much water I can hold in my sinuses (I know, grow up, right?). On the other hand, apparently, my brain doesn’t take up as much space up there as I thought….

I squeezed too hard the first time, and I blew my nose too hard after.  That resulted in a bit of mild discomfort afterward for about half an hour and on my second use I was a bit more gentle.  Other than that, I had no issues at all and it worked just fine.  After the first four or five times of use (I’ve been using it for almost three months now), it’s all become old-hand.

Now, does it make a difference? Yes.  Mind you it isn’t as big of a difference as my brother has found (since I don’t suffer from chronic allergies like he does), but it does make a noticeable difference to my breathing.   It works exactly as advertised – not a miracle cure, but a useful tool if you need it.  And hey, Dr. Oz thinks its a good tool too – I first learned about the term “nasal irrigation” from him on Oprah.

Would I continue to use it? I have continued, although not every day.  I use it when I’m stuffed up. I’ve now made the squeeze bottle my first choice to try before reaching for other less-natural remedies.  That having been said, a couple of weeks ago when I had a cold I did use a medicated nasal spray when I went to bed. The squeeze bottle worked fine in the day, but once I was laying down in bed, my stuffiness from the cold was worse and I needed something stronger.

On the SinuCleanse squeeze bottle:  thumbs up from me. It is effective and I really like that it is natural – I’m not putting junk in my body (just cleaning it out, lol).

SinuCleanse Neti Pot:

The Neti Pot comes in a similar box as the squeeze bottle, with the same packets and the addition of a small plastic spoon for stirring it all up.

My brother wrote down his thoughts on the Neti Pot, which he uses every single day.  I wanted to include his experience for you, because he’s always suffered from severe allergies and he has found the Neti Pot is a HUGE help.

(He actually loves it so much he bought our mom one as a gift. …I know!  Let’s just say she thought it was a very “unique” gift, lol. I think she re-gifted it to my grandad right away.  It may be watering his plants, not sure.)

Here are my bro’s thoughts in his own words:

• Everyone says online that “it’s not as bad as it sounds” – of course it is!  It’s horrible the first few times you use it.  What they should say is that “after 10 or 15 times you get used to it and it’s not so bad.”
• I use it every morning. (one full pot in each nostril)
• I’ve gone from not being able to breathe through my nose at all (allergy) to being able to jog and breathe through my nose.
• Results were apparent to me upon first use – full results after 3 or 4 uses.
• After a while you get used to feeling “good” but you stop for a day or two and feel absolutely horrible.
• Helped to keep me clear and feel better during a recent cold but…  EWWWWWWWW to what came out!

Whoops! Me again…let’s just stop him right there, shall we?  He’s such a boy…we don’t need to hear any more details than that! I will say, though, that Mike initially found it more uncomfortable than I did, but he also found the results incredibly beneficial. I didn’t find it too uncomfortable (hey, I’ve had four kids…) but I don’t find it has as big of an impact on my breathing as my poor allergy-ridden brother does.

On the SinuCleanse Neti Pot: HUGE thumbs up from my brother.  He still uses it daily.

Our final thoughts on SinuCleanse:

Pros:

• I can breathe!  I can breathe! (both of us)
• Feels good after (both)
• I can smell better (Melanie)
• Relatively natural process – no medication, water is same consistency of saline as your tears (both)
• The ability to gross out your friends who say “what’s this cute little elephant-like thing in your bathroom…” (Mike)

Cons:

• Nasty feeling initially (Mike)
• Gotta make sure it’s not too hot & that all salt has dissolved or it fricken hurts! (poor Mike!)

Reviews on Girlgetstrong.com reflect the personal opinion of the writer, whether it is good, bad or ugly. This product was supplied to GGS by the company for review purposes.  No compensation was accepted by me, Mike or GGS Media Corporation for this review.