The Situation: Recently, A.I. and I were having dinner at Pho Grand and we started grumbling about our illnesses and pains. Then, A.I asked if I had ever used a netipot. Talk about a surreal moment.

The Netipot Skinny: Two years ago my ENT doc recommended using a netipot sinus cleansing system to help relieve some of the sinus/allergies congestion that I get regularly. By coincidence, I had just watched a video of someone demonstrating the neti online. It looked absolutely torturous! My answer? No. Not now, not ever. Yet, the hope of long-lasting sinus relief kept me intrigued. So, I agreed to take home the doc's version of the netipot, the NeilMed sinus cleansing system. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself to use it, even after doc after doc after doc said I should (yeah, I've been to a lot of docs in the last two years). But, for some reason, when A.I. mentioned it, I finally decided that I would dust off the NeilMed, read the directions, and maybe even give it a try.

The Conclusion: When I got home, I did follow through. In fact, I even used the NeilMed. To my relief, it wasn't too bad. The solution was noticeably salty and, at first, a little easy to choke on as you squeezed the solution to your nostril (but easy to stop the choking too). The weirdest part was the very strange feeling of the mucus and sinus slime draining out of your nostril while, at the same time, also creating a blockage of that same said nostril. I didn't feel any immediate relief but did feel a little clearer and less congested the next morning.