Neti Pot Nose Rinse – Frequency Recommended

There are hundreds of reasons to use the Neti pot, and its popularity has grown tremendously within the last decade. It came to the United States during the seventies yoga boom, and has been embraced by the general population as well. It is very easy to start, but very confusing to master and do properly. This guide will help clear any misconceptions that you might have about the actual best times and recommended frequency of its use.

As a rule of thumb, for general sinus cleanliness, performing the nose rinse once or twice a day is usually customary. Even though it might be counter intuitive, the neti pot method is best practiced first thing in the morning to clear up the morning grogginess and mucus build up while preparing the mind and body for the rest of the day. The nose will work much better, and as you have an easier time breathing your mood will become a bit elevated. If you work in a large city or are subjected to large levels of dust or pollution it is recommended to perform a second rinse after work and take some filtering load off of your nostrils.

The Neti is to be always done before and not after meals, as written by the yogis and alternative medicine practitioners. Upon qualified advice, for therapeutic applications the neti method can be done up to a maximum of four times a day. Even a healthy and natural process as the jala neti can be abused and should be done in moderation.

The following times are best:

(1) first thing in the morning before breakfast,
(2) before lunch around noon,
(3) during the evening but before dinner,
(4) just before going to bed.

If you do happen to have a cold, doing it three to four times a day will give major relief to your symptoms as long as your nose is well dried after each process and can handle this frequency without inducing nose bleeds.

There are certain limitations that have to be addressed. Anyone that suffers chronic nose bleeds should seek doctor’s approval before starting the Neti process. Even though the Neti does not present complications associated with any disease, those with high blood pressure and migraines should also seek qualified guidance. Younger kids between the ages of two and seven should be supervised and assisted when needed. Unless you are fully confident with the technique and competent, it is not recommended that you teach or tell others to try out the practice unassisted. Lastly for novice users, nothing but warm water with a saline solution should be used.

I hope that this clears up a few of the questions that you might have had about the use of the Neti. The process of saline irrigation itself is very natural, healthy, and gentle but it is important to do it with caution and knowledge. There is a lot of information on the web that is very easy to get and useful, and that is a good thing. Even if you have no interest in meditation or yoga, that is where the nose rinsing process came out off and was most studied.