IT "SNOT" A JOKE - THIS THING WORKS!!!

Okay, so I am in no way a crunchy granola, health-foody, homeopathic kind of girl (well, with the exception of Zycam, which I SWEAR reduces the symptoms and duration of my colds). I am a person whose parents were relatively traditional in their treatment of our common childhood ailments, so of course I grew up thinking that if you had a cough, Triaminic would fix it. If you had a fever, you took Tylenol to make it go away.

However, now that I'm older, I have to say that I am beginning to have a shift in my thinking that is making a bit more room for alternative medicine in my own repertoire... For example, I absolutely swear by Zycam, which is a nasal-swab gel that you put in your nose at the exact time that you find yourself saying "I couldn't possibly be getting a cold" (although you are starting to feel the first twinges of it). I started using this when I was teaching elementary school and I promise that it has shortened and lessened the severity of every cold since, as long as I took it right at the start of my symptoms. You can even use it on kids, although the only thing that Caroline will put in her nose right now is her own finger, so I guess I have to wait on that.

Last night, I was fighting yet another sinus headache, which have plagued me off and on for the past few years (especially after being pregnant). This particular one had lasted for a day-and-a-half, brought on by the cold, dry DC weather, combined with the warm, dry heat in my house. Also, as our second snowstorm of the season started to make its way here, the pressure outside just added insult to injury. I had tried everything traditional that I could think of to shake this headache - Sudafed (my favorite over-the-counter miracle), Advil, ice packs on my face - when I remembered something that my sister-in-law Carrie had given me - a neti pot. I had seen it on Oprah with Dr. Oz before, and it "sounded" like the answer to my sinus issues, but the thought of dumping water into my nose ON PURPOSE skeeved me out a bit. When Carrie gave me one, I thought about it, and then put it away - I wasn't desperate enough to have that "just jumped in the pool without closing my mouth/nose" feeling that I was sure I would have by using it.

Well, last night, out of sheer misery, I decided to give it a try - AND IT WORKED! Yes, it did take a bit to figure out just how to hold my head so that the salt water flowed out of my nose and not down my throat, but I definitely felt better (though not 100%) than I had before doing the treatment. This morning, I woke up with that feeling of "I'm about to get another bad headache," used the pot again, and I totally staved off the headache! We're going on 5 hours now, and not a sign of the headache anywhere. I think I am a convert, but I will keep you posted...