The importance of keeping our airways moisturized and flushed.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

Airway moisturizing and cleansing:

1. Because household humidity is typically lower than desirable in the winter, I like to use the bottles of inexpensive nasal saline spray to moisten my sinuses and nasal cavities. This assists our system to expel dust, germs and viruses by thinning the mucus. Those things saved my butt many times during my days of busy air travel where the air is extremely dry.

2. Periodic use of a netti pot or rubber syringe to irrigate our sinuses and nasal cavities can rid our mucus system of infectious germs and irritants. I use a baby ear syringe and a homemade saline solution recommended by my ENT specialist.

3. Deep breathing during a hot shower can help us clear thickened mucus from our bronchial system and lungs. We also use just a pot of steamy water on the stove, or a Vicks brand personal vaporizer ($30 at drugstores) that works really well.

Note that these are the methods I've used for many years and may or may not work for you. If in doubt, consult an ENT doctor.

(cross-posted to GD)

KY.........

[MLAA]

1. Thank you KY!

Good advice😷

[KY_EnviroGuy]

2. You're welcome. It's actually the voice of experience from my traveling days.

KY...........

[MLAA]

3. Going to get a humidifier today 😉

[KY_EnviroGuy]

4. Be sure to get a bottle of their anti-bacterial additive solution.

Otherwise, I think you can make your own.

Because room air circulates through it, they can get one heck of a bacteria buildup in its tank and on the humidifying elements. The water additive kills bacteria.

See if you can read the directions for it before you buy.........

[MLAA]

6. Just got home from CVS with:

Cough medicine, cold and flu meds, Tylenol and, drumroll, a humidifier. I did go for one that said it had a place to add liquids and I bought a bottle of vicks vapo steam. But I didn’t get any antibacterial additive. I will head over to amazon to find that 🙂

Thanks for motivating me to get one.

[greenman3610]

5. caution: make sure water from a neti pot is sterile

there have been rare but devastating incidences of "brain eating amoeba" infections
from contaminated neti use.

https://www.pharmacist.com/article/brain-eating-amoeba-death-highlights-importance-safe-neti-pot-use

t’s right out of a horror movie: a woman’s brain is devoured by amoeba over the course of a year, and by the time it’s discovered, it’s too late to save her. A surgeon who operated on her told the Seattle Times that “a section of her brain about the size of a golf ball was bloody mush.” And it’s all because she used tap water in the neti pot she used to rinse her sinuses.

Neti pots have become increasingly popular for fighting congestion and allergies and to prevent colds.