I do nasal irrigation with  (plain ) salt & warm water, but after just a few squirts, One nostril will bleed a bit, so i quit. Is this harmful ? Maybe I should just use plain water, & is that just as good?

Thanks, & have a good week everyone.    

Try a few drops in each nostril (several times per day)  of Organic Sesame seed Oil (not toasted oil). I use: http://www.florahealth.com/flora/home/usa/products/TGU6.htm#67930. Don't think it's necessary to use a pharmaceutical grade as this is very high quality and much less expensive. Buy a dropper bottle from the pharmacy. This worked very well for me for similiar issues with nasal irrigation and very dry climate.

Edited by: jazz4evr on Oct 29, 2009 1:35:56 PM

Just plain water is irritating to the mucus membranes.  Make sure you're not using iodized salt.  I use kosher salt with my neti pot.  Might be that you have the mix a little off; too much salt can be irritating, too.  I've heard of putting a little amount of baking soda in the solution to adjust the pH if needed.

Sounds like you use an irrigation device ("squirts").  I would recommend a neti pot.  The neti pots are generally seen to be more effective and are very gentle to your tender nasal passages.

I have been irrigating for years,  and never had a bleeding problem.   Are you using too much force ?   The solution may be too strong.  The usual concentration of salt is 1/4 tsp of salt to 250cc or 12 oz water,  any temperature.

You might look at the National Jewish Center for Respiratory Medicine and see their entry regarding nasal irrigations    www.njc.org

The question of irrigating too often was posed to an international specialist at NJC and his reply was that one could irrigate 100 times per day.   He further commented that nasal irrigations are the cornerstone of their treatments, and "no one believes them"

--David

I note my reply ended up at the bottom...cf my first reply.   I forgot to mention that i past years I have begun to use Sea Salt, and I find I prefer Sea Salt  ( particularly the salt produced in France )

I would be a little leery of using sea salt.  Sea Salt, usually unrefined, contains many different minerals.  It's great on food, but I wouldn't want to irrigate my nasal passages with it.  Kosher salt is refined, contains fewer additives, and dissolves easily.