Why is it bad to do a nasal irrigation with a blocked nose?

Whatever you do, DON’T USE TAP WATER in your nose. (also this one too)

This is what the FDA says about them.

I couldn’t find a clear answer, either. But I think the general idea is that because most nasal irrigation is gravity-based, a blockage could stop the water from coming out the other nostril the way it’s supposed to. That said, the only thing I could find that had an actual quote seemed to suggest it would just be less effective (not dangerous or pointless).

I would never do it, but that’s just my opinion. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

@gorillapaws gave good info about only using distilled water.

If you have a cold, and assuming you are otherwise healthy, why not take an antihistamine and/or decongestant to get some relief?

I use saline (for contacts) and it works for me, but I’m no doctor.

There is an OTC saline spray made specifically for the nose. I keep one in my medicine cabinet for when I need it. It might not unclog your nose but the extra moisture shouldn’t hurt anything & might help your breathing. I have gas heat & my nasal passages are extra dry during the winter & I find the saline spray helps much better than just water.

I have used a neti pot for many years. If you live in Florida you should already know not to use unsteralized water in your nose….not even the shower. Really anywhere, but some if not all of Florida cities’ tap water carries the brain eating amoeba Naegleri fowleri. It is safe to drink but NEVER in the nose. It is over 99% fatal. We buy distilled water and still boil it four minutes before using. I have few sinus issues but if I have a little sinus drainage, or I have been around a crowd or in a doctor office waiting room or hospital, I go home, drop my shoes in the washing machine and use the neti pot. I take some supplements, which, together with the neti has kept me from catching any kind of communicable disease in many years. I have never heard a conversation about using the neti with a blocked nasal passage, but the nasal passage is where the water needs to travel. Otherwise it will come back out the side it goes into.

heh @gorillapaws I’ve had 5 sinus surgeries and I’ve irrigated every day with hypertonic tap water for nearly 20 years. The risk is extremely low.

And in answer to the question, it’s not bad to do irrigation on a blocked nose. It’s just that if it’s completely blocked it won’t work.

What is the purpose of irrigating?

What is the purpose of irrigating?

Living in the upper Midwest, winter stuffed noses are a constant. When I commuted by bicycle, I would snort out (what seemed like) a quart of snot on the morning ride and be good for the day. When I lived in Los Angeles, sniffles (and chapped lips) were simply not a thing.

Irrigation with a neti pot clears up the clogs. In the day I breathe better and at night I sleep better.

@Caravanfan, I take your meaning to be that using ordinary tap water for irrigating is fine. I’ve let the faucet run warm, filled the Neti spray bottle, added the saline packet, and gone ahead and done the rinse. No ill effects. Good to have it on a doctor’s authority, though.

I cannot see the possible logic of water that’s fine to drink but not to put up your nose, not when I’ve had the unclean waters of the Atlantic Ocean up my nose day after day through childhood summers and beyond, not to mention assorted lakes (including a muddy one in Iowa) and swimming pools and even a dip or two in the Pacific. I do not swallow them, though.

Our weather has been so crazy, hot 80 degree days then 20 degree snowy days the next. and now lots of storms.

I’m getting sick.

But not sure if allergies so wanted to try nasal irrigation

@Caravanfan You understand the risks far better than I would. “Brain-eating amoeba” has a particularly unpleasant ring to it though. Even if the risk is extremely low, I’m going to use distilled water or saline if I ever start irrigating my nose though. Having a microorganism eating my brain is right up there with having Cordyceps turning me into a zombie (not possible but still terrifying).

@gorillapaws lol I agree. When I’m travelling in developing countries I have a steri-pen sterilizer that I use prior to irrigation. I used to use distilled water but it was always too cold, and it was a pain in the ass for me to take it downstairs to stick in the microwave (where it would become too hot). I asked my ENT physician and he said that tap water is probably fine.

@Jeruba The theory is that you are irrigating your nose and it gets into the sphenoid sinus, which is right next to the brain. They would get in through there. Through the gut you have all the layers of immunological protection.

@Dutchess_III It helps treat chronic sinusitis by washing out the snot that is stuck, which can get especially bad if you’re using decongestiants or antihistamines. It’s gross but for those of us with chronic sinus disease it’s essential. I used to be religious about it but now that I’m on a monoclonal antibody (Dupixent) I’m way better and don’t need to do it as often.

Like @LadyMarissa I use a saline spray in each Nostril. Have never gone the full neti pot route.

@Jeruba @Caravanfan The brain eating amoeba is not dangerous other than it going into the nose and traveling the olfactory nerve to the brain. It doesn’t have to make sense to someone for it to kill them. We see this in the South, in warm waters and here in Florida, in tap water as well as lakes and streams. My area has lost two this year from swimming in a lake and one from using unsterilized tap water for nasal irrigation . There is no problem drinking the water, but it is very dangerous for it to make it into your nose, particularly with any force. Very well documented stuff.

@snipsnip. Yes it’s all about where you are and what is endemic.

Where is the OP? It happens all over the Southern half of the US, including California. It is extremely rare. I’ve seen cases reported in the upper midwest, but it’s so rare maybe that person was traveling from another location.

Maybe people can boil water if they don’t want to buy distilled if they are concerned.

I guess it’s like eating raw commercial eggs, only a very small percentage of people will get salmonella from the eggs. You can buy pasteurized eggs and not worry about it.

@ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24485-brain-eating-amoeba

@SnipSnip It does saying boiling works. Thanks.

@JLeslie I am right here. I have been reading responses just nothing to add I guess

^^Where in the country? What state do you live in, or what region if you don’t want to say the state.

Look, there is nothing wrong with using distilled water. It’s preferred. I just found it to be a pain in the ass and I’m lazy about it. If I die from brain eating amoeba then my daughter can say, “My dad was cool. He died from a brain eating amoeba! What did your dad die of?”

I live in Wisconsin, did I say I was not going to use distilled water? What is the issue here ? Obviously, you would not use tap thats common sense.

My bad. I never should have brought it up. Sorry. Use distilled water. The answer to your question is it’s not bad to do irrigation if it will unblock your nose. If you try to do irrigation with a blocked nose it just won’t work because there’s nowhere for the irrigant to go except bounce back out of your nose.

How do you make hypertonic tap water?

@RocketGuy Add some non-iodized salt with a smidge of baking soda to it. Or use a saline packet.

@Caravanfan Wasn’t meaning rude. Maybe I misread but some of the discourse seemed directed at me and I was confused

^^It wasn’t directed at you, It was a debate about whether tap water is worth the risk. You never stated you use tap water, and later you even said you use distilled water.