I’d like to blog about my neti pot,
an item that’s near and dear to my heart.
As a matter of fact, I don’t know where I’d be today if I didn’t own my little
Aladdin’s lamp look-alike.
In August of 2008, I moved from
Ankara, Turkey, to Cairo, Egypt, the Mother of All Mega-Metropolises. Not long after my arrival, I started having a
series of respiratory ailments. I wasn’t
entirely surprised by this sudden ugly turn of events because I’d read up on
the place and had learned all about its notorious air pollution, including its
dubious distinction of being a “brown cloud” city along with places like Beijing
and New Delhi.
It didn’t help that it was located
in the middle of a desert and that the wind would often get up, sending a lot
of that grit airborne and headed for my nostrils. As a result of this double whammy—pollution
and dust—these sicknesses became more common and acute. At their worst, my entire nose would close up
and I’d end up gasping for breath. As
you might guess, I began taking extreme measures, which included swallowing medicines
and smearing my face and body with all manner of exotic and strange-smelling ointments. I even started seeking advice from others and
would often find myself in the odd position of discussing my snot with mere
acquaintances.
I eventually ended up where I always
end up when I’m desperate—on the internet.
After a bit of creative Googling, I discovered something called the neti
pot but was unable to find one in Cairo, so I constructed a facsimile out of an
empty water bottle. Such an
improvisation wasn’t perfect, but it got me by until I was able to get my hands
on the real McCoy.
Today, I’m like the world’s greatest
neti pot evangelist. I tell anyone and
everyone who’ll listen about the value of pouring salty water through one’s
nasal passages.
Two last thoughts. For those of you unfamiliar with the art and
science of neti potting, I’ll include a videotaped demo. And finally, the neti pot is really an
ancient device that has a
very interesting history.
P.S.
Yes, that is an interesting hat on my head!
