Homemade Neti Pot solution

Between allergy season (for me means nice weather) and cold and flu season I likely go through 30 boxes of tissues.  I will contract a cold from my husband from which he had the odd cough and sniffle and I can barely breath for a week.  I often will get severe congestion accompanied by pain in my sinuses (and eventually my entire face!) which lead to a sinus infection treated with antibiotics, which I loath!  There had to be a better way.  In came the NETI POT!

It was about a year or 2 ago that my wonderful mother in law introduced me to the neti pot.  I had been suffering from a terrible cold and sinus infection when she decided to purchase a neti pot for me and bring it by with a pot of homemade chicken soup... that's right, I am spoiled!  MAN, did this little pot ever save my life.  I have not taken antibiotics since receiving my neti pot!  The pot also came with 50 packets of pH balances sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate mixture (baking soda and salt).  It did not take long for me to go through these little packs so I decided to make my own.  Again, in came my Mother in law.  She had a recipe that she had been using with success for some time.  I gave this a whirl and EUREKA!  Works equally as well as the sachets you can buy... for me at least.  I have to imagine that the sachets you purchase are more refined and medical grade ingredients but for me, this homemade solution is working just fine.


Recipe:
3TBSP baking soda
1 heaping TBS salt (I used sea salt)

Method:
Simply mix these and add 1/2-1tsp per pot of lukewarm distilled water (tap water may contain pollutants).  I simply mix up a batch and keep it in a small tupperware in the washroom.  Be sure to use non iodized salt since iodized can irritate the sinus and exacerbate the condition.