28 December 2005

Jala neti

I have, thankfully, never had problems with my sinuses. Ever.

However, the last 4 days I feel like I have had big, hard boogers and bloody scabs in my nose. (Hey, if this grosses you out, turn the channel.) My snot is dark yellow. A sign of infection. Not good. I do not have a cold. I feel fine. Except for the hard booger thing. And the sensation of burning in my nose and behind my eyes.

So, today I began doing jala neti. I haven’t done it since last winter. Moments afterwards I feel better.


I will be bringing my neti pot to work tomorrow so I can use it several times during the day.

Here is the basic process of Jala Neti:
  1. Use a Neti pot or container that has a thin spout
  2. Mix 1/4 t. salt to 1 cup of warm water
  3. Bend forward over sink, tilt head slightly to one side
  4. Slowly pour salt water mix in upper nostril
  5. The water should come out of the opposite nostril
  6. Again, mix 1/4 t. of salt with 1 cup warm water
  7. Tilt head to other side
  8. Pour salt water mixture into other nostril
I sometimes add GSE (grapefruit seed extract) or xylitol to the water.

I also had to talk to my colleagues about the horrible, toxic bathroom spray they all use. It is killing me! I can always tell when someone uses it. My eyes burn, my throat burns and today: my sinuses were freaking! Burning, aching.

This has got to stop! I’d rather smell the gaseous exhaust of my colleagues all day than breathe that poisonous “air freshener.” Air fresheners and deodorizers in aerosol form frequently contain petrochemical propellants such as butane, isobutane and propane—all of which are neurotoxic at high concentrations.

What is wrong with people? Air freshener!?
  • ethyl or isopropyl alcohol
  • glycol ethers
  • surfactant (quaternary ammonium salts)
  • perfume
  • water
  • propellants
  • metazene (4.0%)
  • petroleum distillates (6.0%)
  • aluminum chlorhydrol
  • bromsalicylanilide 2,3,4,5-BIS(2-butylene) tetrahydrofural
  • cellosolve acetate
  • dichlorodifluoromethanol
  • ethanol
  • fatty esters
  • lauryl methacrylate
  • methoxychlor
  • methylene chloride
  • o-phenylphenol
  • p-dichlorobenzene
  • pine oil (toxicity like turpentine)
  • piperonyl butoxide
  • pyrethrin
  • synthetic surfactants
  • trichloromonofluoromethane
  • wax
  • zinc phenolsulfonate
I think not!

How about opening a window or lighting a match? Jeez!

By the way, I’ve often thought if I ever get another pussy cat I’d name it Neti Potts.

And I did, sort of. A while ago a friend, RS, had a kitty knock on her door. She already had a bunch o’ kitties and after finding out he was Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) positive she knew she couldn’t risk his being around the others, especially the one who kind of beat him up.

We called him: Matilde Tuesday Netti Pots. She found him a good home, in a big house on a hill in Connecticut.


Here he is back when he first showed up.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, Crow, the longer I'm with my tall-tale-telling husband, the more I understand that one should not tamper with the development of stories as they leave home and go make their way in the world.

And yet, in fairness to the other cats, I have to interject: RS tells me, "Not one of them ever beat up on our little Tuesday Netipots." (And I think he had feline immunodeficiency disease, not FeLV.)

So let the story grow, but with just a little nod to historical accuracy.

And yes, of course, everyone he met, even by email, fell in love with the beautiful, kindly prince and yes it is a MANSION in Connecticut; no a PALACE
where he now resides, yes, up on a big hill overlooking a fertile verdant valley which will someday be his...

CrimsonCrow said...

So, to correct the story: one of the “other” cats had a tendency to beat other kitties up, not that he actually did?

And I am glad you corrected the FeLV part because as I wrote it I knew it was wrong but could not, to save my immune system, remember what the illness really was...

Anonymous said...

RS standing in here:
No, no, every single one of the other cats is a devout Epusscopalian (well, one of them is Catolic) and practice "goodwill towards cats" as a matter of faith and principle. Really, Crow, your wanton assertions are causing a lot of upset in the ranks. They try so hard. They like to be recognized--

(Whoops, I've got to run; I hear some extremely loud caterwauling...Where could THAT be coming from?)