Checking In!

Both Ginger's have been insanely busy, so we're kinda "phoning it in" today, but we wanted to say "hey!" and make sure everyone is surviving the cold! We have actually had over 24 consecutive hours of below freezing temps here in Texas, which happens like, never! And there's another 24 hours before we expect any relief! Miss Ginger hears ya- it's not that cold! But, give us a break! We don't own the right clothes for it. Our homes are not insulated and heated for it. And it's a damp cold that chills right through to your bones! Miss G can handle a cold night, when a film of ice forms on top of the birdbath- but right now, that fucker is frozen solid!

So, these cold temps have Miss Ginger turning up the heat on the forced-air furnaces, which, in turns, exacerbates Boy Ginger's tender little sinuses. So that brings Miss G to her next CPR®:

The problem: Dry, stuffy, irritated sinus passages.

The product: Any brand or style of "Neti Pot"

Neti Pots are all the rage right now, thanks to the preponderance of yoga studios and middle eastern holistic medicine gurus. The most basic and inexpensive kind is plastic and comes from a drugstore, and is packaged with packets of the saline sinus wash solution.

Boy Ginger has a plastic Neti Pot that he travels with, and a nice ceramic one from Whole Paycheck that he uses at home.

A Neti Pot is not difficult to use, but it does take some practice and getting used to! The pot is filled by mixing the saline packet with warm water. To use the pot, one leans over a lavatory or basin, places the spout into the nostril, and turns the neck so the nostrils are stacked vertically. Breathing normally through the mouth (okay..um, I don't normally breathe through my mouth!) allows the solution to flow into the top nostril and out the bottom nostril. Easy, right? Not so much! A reflex similar to the gag reflex (maybe it is the gag reflex) tends to make you divert the water out through the mouth instead of through the sinuses. But, if one relaxes, and takes time to figure out the personal physiology of it, they will be rewarded with clean, soothed sinuses, and potentially a sinkfull of saltwater and snot.

Wait! Finish reading my blog post before you all rush out to Walgreen's! Miss G KNOWS that last sentence made you all want one!

When the sinuses are relatively clear, but painful, the saline solution soothes the dry, cracked tissues and encourage the formation of protective, clear mucous to keep them moist. If one has a sinus or upper respiratory infective, the Neti Pot will not flow so easily on it's own, but Boy Ginger has discovered that by alternating the application of the solution with copious amounts of nose-blowing, he can clear an amazing amount of goop out of his head!

Just a couple of caveats. Obviously, a Neti Pot is like a toothbrush- everyone should have their own! It should be kept immaculately clean. And always use a saline solution, never clear water.

The verdict:

FIVE LIPSTICKS!!!!

Everyone should have, and learn to use, a Neti Pot! Some people use them every day, but Boy G only uses his when he is "feeling sinusey"! It really helps!