Step 1: Please wash your hands. Fill the clean bottle with the designated volume of either distilled, micro-filtered (through 0.2 micron filter), commercially bottled or previously boiled and cooled down water. Always rinse your nasal passages with NeilMed® Sinus Rinse™ packets only. Our packets contain a mixture of USP grade sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate. These ingredients are of the purest quality available to make the dry powder mixture. Rinsing your nasal passages with only plain water without our mixture will result in a severe burning sensation as the plain water is not physiologic for your nasal lining, even if it is appropriate for drinking. Additionally, for your safety, do not use tap or faucet water for dissolving the mixture unless it has been previously boiled for five minutes or more as boiling sterilizes the water. Other choices are distilled, micro-filtered (through 0.2 micron), commercially bottled or, as mentioned earlier, previously boiled water at lukewarm or body temperature. You can store boiled water in a clean container for seven days or more if refrigerated. Do not use non-chlorinated or non-ultra (0.2 micron) filtered well water unless it is boiled and then cooled to lukewarm or body temperature.
*You may warm the water in a microwave in increments of 5 to 10 seconds to avoid overheating the water, damaging the device or scalding your nasal passage.
Step 2: Cut the Sinus Rinse™ mixture packet at the corner and pour its contents into the bottle. Tighten the cap and tube on the bottle securely. Place one finger over the tip of the cap and shake the bottle gently to dissolve the mixture.
Step 3 Standing in front of a sink, bend forward to your comfort level and tilt your head down. Keeping your mouth open, without holding your breath, place the cap snugly against your nasal passage. SQUEEZE BOTTLE GENTLY until the solution starts draining from the OPPOSITE nasal passage. Some may drain from your mouth. For a proper rinse, keep squeezing the bottle GENTLY until at least 1/4 to 1/2 (60 mL to 120 mL or 2 to 4 fl oz) of the bottle is used. Do not swallow the solution.
Step 4: Blow your nose very gently, without pinching nose completely to avoid pressure on eardrums. If tolerable, sniff in gently any residual solution remaining in the nasal passage once or twice, because this may clean out the posterior nasopharyngeal area, which is the area at the back of your nasal passage. At times, some solution will reach the back of your throat, so please spit it out. To help drain any residual solution, blow your nose gently while tilting your head forward and to the opposite side of the nasal passage you just rinsed.
Step 5: Now repeat steps 3 and 4 for your other nasal passage. Most users find that rinsing twice a day is beneficial, similar to brushing your teeth. Many doctors recommend rinsing 3-4 times daily or for special circumstances, even rinsing up to 6 times a day is safe. Please follow your physician’s advice.
Step 6: Clean the bottle and cap. Air dry the Sinus Rinse™ bottle, cap, and tube on a clean paper towel, a lint free towel, or use NeilMed® NasaDOCK® or NasaDOCK plus™ (sold separately) to store the bottle, cap and tube.
It is very important to keep these devices clean and free from any contamination.Replace the bottle every 3 months.
