★★★★☆
I have had severe nasal congestion due to allergies and repeated sinus infections since the age of 4. I spent years on allergy pills, medicated nasal sprays with HCl (the rebounding is terrible), and later saline sprays, which were far better than nothing but not that great. I started rinsing with a neti pot (1 cup of warm filtered water; 1/2 tsp of un-iodized salt; 1/4 tsp baking soda; and a few drops of castor oil for each nostril) about 3 years ago. It took a couple of weeks of using it daily or every other day before I noticed anything profound, but now I can breathe better -- particularly when I'm laying down for sleep -- than ever before in my life. If I'm sick I'll rinse 1-2 times per day; otherwise I only do it every other day. My nasal passages tend to keep draining little amounts for about half an hour after I rinse, so allow some time to sit upright with tissues on hand before going to bed. Important: When I only rinsed sporadically, it was not half as effective. If I do it less frequently than every other day, "stuff" has a chance to build up in my sinuses I have a noticeably harder time breathing.
