Relieve Your Sinus Symptoms (2)

Have you tried a “Neti pot”?  When I lived in Austin, Texas, which the locals claim the “Allergy Capital of the World,” everybody was talking about the “Neti pots.”  It is a plastic or ceramic pot like a little tea pot. 

You put the spout into one of your nostrils, pour salt water solution in and let it out from the other nostril.  You will be surprised or confused if it is even possible when you first hear about it, so here is the video showing how to do it.  There is another squeeze bottle type, but I’ve never tried it.

Once you get used to using it, it’s very therapeutic, believe it or not.  I use it after I spend outside for a long time, clean a dusty place, or when I get a headache or a cold.  I try to use it as a preventative care.  If you are prone to sinus problems, it is more effective if you use it everyday. 

Also, inhaling steam may provide you a relief.  Put hot water in a bowl and a few drops of essential oil (eucalyptus, thyme, lemon or tea tree). Then, lean over the bowl with eyes closed.  Cover with a bath towel over your head and the bowl like a tent to fill with the aromatic steam.  Breathe through the nose and month. Make sure to lean comfortably and support your upper body with elbows without straining your back. 

Contrast Bath – a Hot Tub and a Swimming Pool

This is a side story of the post “Exercise as Part of Your Travel Plans.” 

After the great run in Savannah, a bonus treat was a hot tub at the hotel (I love hot tubs!).  They also had a (cold) swimming pool next to it, so I dipped myself up to the waist cooling the legs and hips until they got slightly numb.  And then, I soaked into the hot tub and massaged the calves, thighs and feet.  I repeated 4 times.  Although my calf had already been sore for a few days, that was gone, and other areas of the legs didn’t get sore next day either.

This is a type of hydrotherapy called a Contrast Bath alternating between hot and cold.  It is more beneficial and powerful than a heat application only.  I already emphasized the benefits of heat in the post “Moist Heat Packs,” but the primary effects of cold are:

• Reduces inflammation by vasoconstriction
• Relieves pain (Analgesic/Anesthetic) 
• Relaxes contracted muscles by decreasing the nerve and muscle response
• As the secondary effect, reverses the initial responses to return to the body’s normal, uniform, internal stability (homeostasis)

With the alternate hot and cold application, cold constricts the blood vessels, and the blood draws away (vasoconstriction), while heat helps expand the blood vessels, and new, fresh blood draws in (vasodilation).  This repetitive motion acts as a pump to promote great increase in circulation and relieve congestion.  If you apply it to the whole body, it benefits respiration and metabolism as well as circulation.  Because of the benefit of the homeostatic response (warming up to the usual body temperature), it is best to finish with the cold application.    

I now mainly use this hot and cold therapy as preventative maintenance for my hands and forearms; putting my hands into ice water and warm water alternately.  For anybody who works with their hands and fingers, it is highly recommended to avoid injuries.

The Healing Power of Japanese Bath “Ofuro”

Taking a bath (ofuro) for the Japanese is almost like a ritual.  They are very hygienic. They take a bath before going to bed, so they can sleep in a clean body and keep their bed/futon a sanctuary.  However, taking a bath is more than just cleaning yourself. 

When I was reading about hydrotherapy in the textbook for school, I was very disappointed.  In the section about popularity of baths, Japan was mentioned with a few other East Asian countries, but there was no other information.  The Japanese bathing style is not seen anywhere else in the world, but it is spreading to other countries. 

Japanese Bathrooms

Japanese bathrooms are different because you don’t “wash” in the bathtub, but only “soak.”  It is a “bathing” room, so you don’t find a toilet or a sink.  It has a deep bathtub, a shower on the wall, and the area where you wash yourself.  There are a small stool to sit on and a bucket (bowl) to scoop the water from the bathtub.  Below are examples of Japanese bathrooms at home. 

Recent bathrooms are quite high-tech, so hot water is filled up and re-heated up to your preferred temperature automatically.  Installing a heating fan is getting more popular.

How to Take a Japanese Bath

Naturally, you first have to take off your clothes to get into the bathroom.  Here are the steps of how to take a bath at home (slightly different at a public bath).

1. Rinse off your body using the water from the bathtub with a bucket. A shower is used when taking a shower only, or maybe rinsing your hair; depending on the family.
2. Get in the bath and soak to your chest.  Relax.
3. Get out of the bath, and wash yourself.  Use the water from the bathtub to rinse off.
4. Get back in the bath. Relax.
5. Get out of the bath.  If there is a lid for the bathtub, put it on. The water is kept for other family members, so DO NOT DRAIN. 

Benefits of Baths 

Japanese people take a bath not just for getting clean, but for relaxation.  Many of them prefer and are used to a hot bath between 40°C-43°C (104°F-109°F), but the temperature between 37°C-39°C (99°F-102°F) is most relaxing and therapeutic.  The benefits of hot baths are:

• Relaxing – Activates Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
• Increases circulation and reduces fatigue – The heat makes the blood vessels wider (vasodilation), and the water pressure helps blood return from the legs to the heart and pump more blood especially when you soak only up to your heart.
• Relieves muscle aching

Caution

Sadly, there are quite a few incidents of strokes and heart attacks among the elderly in Japan while they were taking a bath.  To prevent accidents:

• Avoid a long, hot bath above 41°C (106°F)
• Avoid taking a bath right after eating and drinking alcohol, and late at night
• Avoid a sudden temperature change -- Warm the changing room and bathroom, and rinsing your body first also helps your body warm up.
• Get out from the bath slowly
• Hydrate --You don’t realize that you sweat a lot under water. 

The Power of Ofuro

Japanese people still work way too hard and long hours.  I can’t help thinking that ofuro is the power that keeps Japanese people going.  Even after long hours of work, soaking in the bath relaxes them and releases the stress they had at work, so they can start again next day.  

The Japanese bath is good enough, but onsen (hot springs) is even better!  I would be excited to talk about it in the future.   

If you want to know more about the Japanese bathing culture, you might want to read this recent paper. 

Moist Heat Packs

I like using moist heat packs.  It’s not just warm, but moist.  When it’s moist, the heat penetrates more quickly and deeper.  Primary effects of heat are:

• Increased supply of oxygen and nutrients and elimination of waste (Vasodilation)
• Relieves pain (Analgesic) 
• Relaxes muscle fibers by lengthening
• Increased circulation
• Increased metabolism, respiration, and nerve and muscle response
• Moving blood toward the area treated (Derivation)
• Brings white blood cells to the area treated (Leukocytosis)

It also helps you calm down (relax the nervous system), so I always recommend it to my clients even at home whenever a heat application is appropriate.   

Here is the important information about when to use heat or ice as using it incorrectly aggravates the condition.