The New York Times has
an article on what it calls a neti pot - what you use to irrigate your nose. It's certainly not called a neti pot here, but I don't know the word, so... I remembered that there was one among my late mother-in-law's things, and decided that it was time to try it out. I watched a YouTube video on how to do it -- only the person in the video used something called 'neti pot salt', while I used the salt that we have, which is iodised. Will I get cancer?
Anyway, it's done. I didn't like it -- the water ran out of my nose and down the side of my face, and when I bent over afterward and snorted as directed, it came out of my nose and my mouth, and it was pretty much like being in the ocean and getting seawater in your nose. My nose does feel clean and all, though, so maybe I'll try it again sometime.
This is our family neti pot (that's a very small flower):
7 comments:
How astonishing, what a dainty little thing!
I'm not sure I'll rush to try it though, I never much liked it when it happened at the swimming pool...
We used to call it Jaari in Gujrati (Jaar or Dhaar is controlled water flow and thus Jaari is a water spout). Bhai(Ramesh) and I used to use it to clean our noses just as you described, with warm water with a pinch of salt dissolved. The trick is to hold your breadth and not let water go down the throat; then water will come out of the other nostril cleaning the nasal passages internally.
Bhupen
Oh, thanks for the word - jaari. Bhai couldn't remember it. Neti pot sounds very silly to me. :)
The process is called Jala(water in Sanskrit) Neti hence the name for the pot. It is also done with thread manually inserted in the nose but that is expert level!
I suppose one could call it "Mooku Thanni Kudukkai." (I don't think there is a word for it in Tamil, despite their fastidiousness for coming up with Tamilian words such as "Tholai Pesi" for phone) :-)
That is a most beautiful neti pot.
My allergy doctor recommended daily nasal irrigation many years ago. As a result, I rarely catch colds and no longer need allergy shots. I buy premixed packets of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate mixture.
It is like being in the ocean and getting seawater in my nose, so there is a positive element of nostalgia involved for me.
In our trip to Kerala last year, the land of ayurveda, I thought I should ask for a Neti Pot. Near to our house are a plethora of small ayurvedic pharmacies. We asked at each one. No one knew what is 'Neti Pot.' Finally, after describing it to one fellow in English, he told me what they call it in Malayalam- Kindi (You can see a photo here-http://www.hotelsmunnar.com/paradisa%20plantation%20retreat/ParadisaRetreat24.jpg)
Tamil has another word, I believe..
Post a Comment