Items needed:
18 ounces (540cc) of purified water, distilled water or spring water
½ teaspoon of salt (Kosher salt or sea salt)
1 drop of 2% Lugol’s Iodine Solution (should build 1 drop each time to 8 drops total)
A 3-oz.bulb-type nasal irrigation syringe (with tip cut off to fit client’s nose) or Sinugator
Procedure:
Bring water with the salt in it to boiling and boil 5 minutes. Let the water cool to the temperature of the skin in the axilla (armpit) so that it does not burn when used. Don’t add the Lugol’s Iodine Solution to the saline on the first 1-2 days but, if not allergic to iodine, start adding Lugol’s iodine on day 2 or 3 each time after it cools to body temperature and start increasing the amount of Lugol’s iodine each day. Boiling evaporates about 2 ounces (60cc) and half of the remaining sterile saline will be used to irrigate each nostril.
Whether you use the bulb syringe or Sinugator (a battery-operated device similar to a Water-Pic which can be purchased at Walgreen’s Pharmacy or online), the client’s forehead needs to be lower than their chin with their face over the sink. Have the client take a deep breath, hold their breath, then, with the bulb syringe or Sinugator pressed snugly into the right nostril, force saline water into that nostril until water flows into the back of the throat. Take the bulb syringe or Sinugator out of the nostril and let the saline water run into the sink. Then do the same procedure on the left nostril. Keep going back and forth from one nostril to the other until all the saline is used.
This can be messy and alternatively, may be done in a shower or bathtub while naked or with a bathing suit on. You need to do this procedure every day for 60 days unless instructed otherwise. After irrigating with only saline for 1-2 days, if there is no allergy to iodine, you can add 1 drop of the Lugol’s iodine to the approximate 16 ounces (480cc) of saline water after it is cooled to body temperature from boiling. The iodine will usually cause a little stinging/burning in the nose or sinuses. Every irrigation, an additional 1 drop of Lugol’s iodine can be added to the saline used to irrigate the nose and sinuses.
