Saturday, November 08, 2008

Adventures in Neti Land

I'm not a believer. I'm a skeptic. Now, I'm not talking about matters of faith and religion, I'm talking about products, and concepts, ideas, and people. I'm not the kind of person to jump on the bandwagon of "the next big thing" just because "it's the next big thing." That is why you won't find me endorsing political candidates, and only very rarely will you hear me actually endorsing a product. For instance, you WILL hear me blather on about Dunkin' Donuts coffee because I really like it and think it's the best coffee out there. (Note to Dunkin' Donuts: I believe in your product and I CAN be bought). I also will go on and on about certain bands or television shows or movies that I happen to really like. But other than that, you generally won't hear me waxing eloquently about any products.

Having said that, I'm now beginning an experiment. Over the past few years I've had a number of friends and relatives tell me about this thing called a Neti Pot (which in this case also goes by the name of SinuCleans) and how wonderful it is for getting rid of colds and sinus headaches, etc. When I asked them about it, I found out that it was a "nasal irrigation" process that emerged from the east. (the east being India, not New Jersey. I will always remain skeptical of things from Jersey). In short, it's a process whereby you pour some sort of saline solution up one nostril and out the other. Sound fun yet? And then I was pointed to this video which pretty much sealed it for me: No thanks, I'll rely on regular over the counter medicines to combat my various maladys.





Well, several friends pretty much swear by this procedure, to the point where they would have you believe that the Neti Pot can solve everything from world hunger and poverty, to curing cancer and bunions. Seriously. That's how devoted these people are to it. On first glance it looks kinda like the lamp you would rub to summon Aladdin's genie, and a giant blue guy with Robin Williams' voice would pop out and cure my headache. No such luck. 

Anyway, while chatting with friends on Twitter I found out that @thenetipot was also on Twitter, and one friend told the fine folks at the company of my solid unbelief. The challenge was on. So the company has sent me a free Neti Pot, which arrived in the mail yesterday, and I have agreed to try it out for awhile, and blog about my experiences. I told them I would be brutally honest, and that if I like the Neti Pot and it works for me, I'll shout it from the mountain tops. On the other hand, if I find out it's a bunch of hooey (hooey being the latin word for snake oil), I would let the world know that as well.

Now I have to admit, I have only heard people raving about the Neti Pot. If you are one of those, feel free to comment here about your experiences. But as of yet I have not found anyone who has tried it and NOT liked it. So I'd love to hear from you as well. 

And...let the games begin. Here's to shoving water up my nose!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This whole saga is surreal. Btw, did you know that rinsing out the nose is part of the ceremonial "cleansing" ritual some Muslims undergo before prayer?

Jeff McCloud said...

My parents talked about a similar sort of saline nasal thing a year or two ago. I don't know if they still use it or not, but they said it helped.

Ken said...

Daniel, my life is surreal, especially in terms of social media and twitter. You oughta be used to it by now. And I WILL be totally honest in this one. Just gotta get up the nerves to shove water up my nose because I just know it won't go as smoothly as it does for the woman in the video. Kinda like when you make a recipe...it never even looks remotely like the picture in the cookbook. I foresee a real mess and possible disaster. But if it works, hey, I'll let you know.