Does anyone have ninja tricks to stay hydrated in Austin in winter? (Center: house, allergies)

[mackenziep]

The summer is usually humid enough and/or I'm hot and thirsty. Winter comes along and I simply can't get enough fluids in me. Then I get cedar fever, which turns into bronchitis and a horrible sore throat.

We've tried a humidifier, but our house is too porous (uninsulated 1917 bungalow). Cold/allergy medicines help with the cedar and the after-effects, but I find most of them to be drying.

I'm drinking Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat tea with honey right now, and it's helping a lot. Any other ideas? Thanks!

[CptnRn]

Use a Neti-Pot with a 1% hypertonic saline (saltwater) solution to irrigate your sinuses several times a day. Use a 3% solution to reduce congestion. It helps a lot.

Recipe here from my allergy doctor Central Texas Allergy & Asthma Center - Allergist, Austin, Texas - Patient Education

[mackenziep]

Never in a million years would I have thought I would be using a neti pot. But I think the time has come -
thanks for reminding me about those!

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by mackenziep

Never in a million years would I have thought I would be using a neti pot. But I think the time has come -
thanks for reminding me about those!

You can get an inexpensive one at Walgreens, it comes with several premixed salt/soda packets. But I usually mix my own using distilled water, canning salt and baking soda as per the instructions above. I keep a quart of the 1% and another quart of the 3% in plastic bottles in the bathroom so it is convenient to use.

Neti pots are mentioned in the Vedas, dating back to 1500 BC and practiced by the Yogi's. There is a reason their use has remained popular and is growing, they are effective. That is about as close to Ninja as you can get I think.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by mackenziep

... Then I get cedar fever, which turns into bronchitis and a horrible sore throat.

Sounds like you have allergies. You really should see an allergy doctor and get shots for the cedar fever, I have it to and the shots have helped a lot. If you avoid becoming congested you can avoid the sinus infections, the sore throat is usually from sinus drainage due to allergies. You can reduce both with prescription nasal sprays. The shots have not completely eliminated my allergies but they have made them manageable. I never get sinus infections anymore.

[Trainwreck20]

^^That. My wife has to stay on top of her allergies or else she gets sinus infections. Sometimes OTC medications will help, sometimes they won't. Shots generally take a while to become fully effective (like, a year or two, really), but then can last for some years after stopping (or spacing out) the shot schedule.

[OpenD]

I agree with the concept, yes, sinus rinsing can be a big help with airborne allergies, but to me neti pots are a thing of the past now that modern nasal wash bottles have been designed that improve the experience.

I got mine at a natural health store. I like that I don't have to go into contortions to use it, that it's seethrough and unbreakable, that the soft silicon tip seals well against my nostril, and that it just seems to work better, as well as being much better for traveling.

[Trainwreck20]

Oh, yeah, I think neti pot is almost like saying kleenex now, though - a brand has overtaken the product. Wife uses a bottle, too, not an actual neti pot.

[CptnRn]

Yes I use "neti-pot" as a generic term these days. On days when my sinus sprays are not enough I take 1/2 of a Claritin-D tablet and that pretty much takes care of it.

[bkout]

They said the cedar last season (roughly Dec to Feb) was the worst in 16 years. I finally couldn't take it and went here for allergy testing http://www.texanallergy.com/ because I knew I could get the drops (here's their video on those http://www.texanallergy.com/allergy-drops). After finding out that I was allergic to EVERYTHING THEY TESTED (except dogs thank God) they started me on some meds because the drops can take months to work. I've been taking generic Singulair and using Nasacort (which is over the counter). Both of those took a while to get going but I've been much better and have been taking the drops for about 5 months. Since I generally try to avoid drugs I hope the results are more from the drops than the drugs. That said these drugs don't seem to be producing any side effects (however Singulair maybe (?) does not seem to be a good choice for those under 20 or so because of possible emotional effects -- Google for info). Hoping to gradually scale back the drugs (have cut back on the Nasacort). Of course the pollens are always changing so the experiment is not a good one in terms of clear conclusions as to what's doing what. As you can imagine I'm glad just to be feeling better. Almost no congestion, no asthma, maybe one or two sneezing fits a day but really I'm pretty happy with the results so far. I guess I won't really know until we hit cedar season again.