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Nasal Congestion Treatment Tips

During the past few weeks, I've had an unusually high number of people ask me what they can do to relieve nasal and sinus congestion.

The first suggestion I have is to read an article that I wrote about How to Avoid Nasal Congestion.

The second suggestion is to wash our your nasal passageway in the following manner:

  1. Stand over your bathroom sink, turn on the cold water, cup your hands together to form a basin-like shape that allows the cold water to pool.
  2. Bring your nostrils down to your hands so that both nostrils are filled with cold water. You can inhale very gently to ensure that water goes as far back in your nasal passageway as is comfortable. Hold this position for up to 3-5 seconds.
  3. Move your hands to the side and allow the water to drain from your nasal passageways. As the water runs out of your nostrils, you can cover one side up at a time while blowing gently through the other side. This will help to remove any mucous and waste materials that are in your nasal passageway.
  4. Repeat the steps listed above 2-3 times or until you feel that your nasal passageway is completely clear of debris and even feels slightly cold.

This process provides relief to most people suffering from nasal and sinus congestion for two reasons:

  1. It helps to ensure a clear nasal passageway.
  2. The cold water helps to cause contraction of the tiny capillaries that line the mucosal membrane of your nasal passageways.

The best feature of this little exercise is that you can do it as many times as you want throughout the day without any fear of adverse effects.

 
 

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Comments

I have found that hot peppers work very well to clear up all forms of congestion. Although they are likely not removing the root cause, they are very effective in the short term and probably harmless if a person knows their limits. They are also cheap and available at all markets. I saute peppers regularly in olive oil and eat with some brown rice for a quick meal especially if I have congestion.

I have found that rinsing my throat and nose with salt water is exteremely effective in preventing and also treating early stages of sinus infection.

I wanted to note that with any nasal cleansing you should only use distilled water. My Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist was very adamant about this for using any nasal irrigation tool. If you use tap water or anything that hasn't been properly purified you run the risk of inhaling microorganisms through unclean water which could be very serious and could lead to death. Please keep this in mind.