There's a lot of buzz out there about the health benefits of the neti pot.
For 21 straight years I've dutifully pumped my body full of drugs with names like Zyrtec, Optivar, Astelin, Benadryl, Nasalcort, Allegra, Singulair, Nasonex, Claritan, Clarinex and Seldane - shelling out anywhere from $10 to $35 per month, per drug, just for the right to breathe.Last year, my allergies were so bad in the winter and spring, I was spending $100 a month on a three-drug cocktail, just so I could see (the allergies affected my eyes), breathe and sleep.
That, the medical experts told me, was my only choice.
So imagine my surprise the first time I tried the "neti pot."
The neti pot is a simple device - it looks like an Aladdin lamp crossed with an old-fashioned cream pourer - that allows users to engage in nasal irrigation.
What's nasal irrigation? Well, it's what it sounds like. You pour a salt-water solution up one nostril and it comes out the other.
It was my wife who first told me about the neti pot. She saw it on Oprah. Dr. Oz was pimping it as a solution for allergy and sinusitis sufferers. The practice of nasal irrigation goes back many years, he said. It's a yogi purification practice.
When I first heard about it and saw the videos of people using it online, I said: "No way. There's no way I'm pouring crap up my nose and letting it come out the other side. That's gross. And stupid."
And then my wife bought me one for Christmas. And to be a good sport I tried it.
I was blown away.
It works wonders. I've used it twice a day - after I brush my teeth in the morning and at night - for three weeks.
I'm off the drugs.