gridlore: One of the "Madagascar" penguins with a checklist: [x] cute [x] cuddly [x] psychotic (Penguin - Checklist)
Douglas Berry ([personal profile] gridlore) wrote2011-02-26 11:27 am

I would have gotten in trouble for doing this when I was ten.

We just shot salt water up my nose. On purpose. My pulmonologist suggest using such a rinse to help with the congestion issues I've been having. Between the odd weather causing things to bloom, cold weather, and the irritant effect of the raw oxygen blasting up my noble nose, I've had a terrible time with snot, blood, and other fun bodily slimes. Dr. Butcher gave me a sample pack, and today we finally had heat, time, and the energy to do it.

Very odd sensation. What you do is mix this packet of salts and baking soda with warm water and squirt it into your sinuses until it runs out the other nostril. Half the bottle on one side, gently blow your nose, be amazed at what comes out, and then repeat the process on the other side. While it feels strange as hell, I could immediately feel a difference in my breathing.

After that, with Kirsten's assistance, I made a first pass at shaving. We did a terrible job, but got most of the hair off my face without any cuts. Which was the important thing. Tomorrow I'll go in and do a better job of detailing and trimming. Sometime this week I want to get into a barber to get my hair buzzed down. Not just because I like having extremely short hair, but because it's much cleaner and easier to deal with.

The only downside to the morning adventures in grooming was my pulse rate. We brought my new pulse/blood O2 monitor in with us and took periodic readings. Even off the oxygen line, my O2 reading stayed up, but my pulse rate reached 140 at one point and even seated and resting wasn't going below 100. Part of this is the Prednisone, I know, but it is still troubling. I'm trying to get a little more exercise and mobile to help build up both my muscles and my lungs, but I worry about that pulse rate.

It should be noted that we managed to destroy the bathroom doing all this. Oy.
mdlbear: blue fractal bear with text "since 2002" (Default)

[personal profile] mdlbear 2011-02-26 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Nose-Watering. On a good day, watering my nose is roughly as effective as a dose of sudafed, only without the effect on my blood pressure.
mdlbear: blue fractal bear with text "since 2002" (Default)

[personal profile] mdlbear 2011-02-26 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Kosher salt and warm tap water seem to work just fine for me, by the way. 1/2 tsp per bottle.

[identity profile] fimbrethil.livejournal.com 2011-02-26 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Neilmed sinus rinse? I highly recommend it if that's not the brand you are using. Much easier than a Neti pot and the salt packs are very convenient.

[identity profile] jls123.livejournal.com 2011-02-27 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
1/4 tsp salt. 1/4 tsp baking soda in 1 cup of boiled water (but after it's cooled a bit). Mix, and spray/squirt...

[identity profile] lizzibabe.livejournal.com 2011-02-28 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
I've been doing that sinus rinse for a few years now. I can say that getting my sinuses used to liquid inside them means that if I laugh so hard I have liquid coming out my nose doesn't irritate so much anymore.
Edited 2011-02-28 04:54 (UTC)
claidheamhmor: (Default)

[personal profile] claidheamhmor 2011-03-01 06:21 am (UTC)(link)
Ugh, hate doing the nasal rinse thing. Then again, raw unsalted water doesn't work well. :)