You've seen the commercials. For more than a year, I entertained the idea of getting the Navage kit. It took me decades before I bought a Water-Pik "water-floss" machine. So wasn't going to spring for a Navage too soon. At the moment, I swear by both products.
I've only had my Navage for two days now. It's freaking wonderful! I did it twice yesterday and twice today. I feel wonderful! My COPD symptoms subside to a noticeable degree, beyond what they were when I discovered that Claritin (Loratadine) has a noticeable positive effect.
But I'm irritated at the idea that you have to buy their saline "pods". Together with the amount of filtered water you put into the machine, the saline pods give you a saline solution of "9% w/v" or 9 grams of salt per liter of water. It's nice that the kit came with enough saline pods to last a month or so. But it seemed to me you could make your own saline solution.
And -- I did. I figured I'd just put a spent plastic pod container back in the machine, and everything would be great. But it isn't. The machine won't "start". apparently, the full, pressurized foil-sealed pod activates the device so the motor works, and putting an empty package into the machine after filling it with saline just doesn't work.
I'm wondering if there isn't a way to mechanically trick the machine into working properly with my own saline solution, without doing any damage.
OK -- that was my question.
Here's what I learned that prompted me to spend $100 on this . . . thing.
I've got mild COPD. I take Spiriva and Claritin for it. Every morning there is a bubble-gum expectoration. Otherwise, as I said, it's a mild condition. But with hypertension -- high-blood-pressure for which I take Metoprolol and Hydrochlorothiazide, I consider myself at risk of dying from a COVID-19 infection. I have to take care of two other seniors -- both with pre-existing conditions -- so we're all at risk. My latest political slogan: "IF you think you have a constitutional right to go unmasked in public and kill me with your COVID infection, I should have a constitutional right to bash your brains in with my Louisville Slugger."
Occasionally, I have sinus congestion. Sometimes, you can even mistake a mild sinus infection for a toothache, because the sinuses are close to the nerves around the teeth. Well, the other day, a knock came at the door. We leave the front gate unlocked for UPS, USPS, Fed-Ex, Amazon -- who all follow protocols and have the courtesy to wear N95 masks. The peep-hole in the door is inconvenient, as I wear eyeglasses. I just assumed it was a delivery person. I opened the door. There's this unmasked idiot and his unmasked assistant standing there, and he says "Termites?!" I quickly told him we'd been fumigated last year -- he had the wrong address. I should've just slammed the door in his face.
So, a week or so thereafter, I had sinus congestion, and began to worry. If I die, the whole family will die -- ungracefully. I ran a web-search.
It turned up a recent human-interest article on MSN. A doctor recommended nasal irrigation. She'd studied COVID statistics in Asian countries, and determined that about 80% of people in those countries performed routine nasal irrigation. The fatality rate in those countries -- given the number of infections -- was decidedly lower. She attributed the lower fatalities to this nasal irrigation practice, and suggests that removing viral particles from the sinuses and nose gives the body time to "figure out" how to cope with the infection.
As for the Navage -- it could be come . . . . addictive. It feels great!
I've only had my Navage for two days now. It's freaking wonderful! I did it twice yesterday and twice today. I feel wonderful! My COPD symptoms subside to a noticeable degree, beyond what they were when I discovered that Claritin (Loratadine) has a noticeable positive effect.
But I'm irritated at the idea that you have to buy their saline "pods". Together with the amount of filtered water you put into the machine, the saline pods give you a saline solution of "9% w/v" or 9 grams of salt per liter of water. It's nice that the kit came with enough saline pods to last a month or so. But it seemed to me you could make your own saline solution.
And -- I did. I figured I'd just put a spent plastic pod container back in the machine, and everything would be great. But it isn't. The machine won't "start". apparently, the full, pressurized foil-sealed pod activates the device so the motor works, and putting an empty package into the machine after filling it with saline just doesn't work.
I'm wondering if there isn't a way to mechanically trick the machine into working properly with my own saline solution, without doing any damage.
OK -- that was my question.
Here's what I learned that prompted me to spend $100 on this . . . thing.
I've got mild COPD. I take Spiriva and Claritin for it. Every morning there is a bubble-gum expectoration. Otherwise, as I said, it's a mild condition. But with hypertension -- high-blood-pressure for which I take Metoprolol and Hydrochlorothiazide, I consider myself at risk of dying from a COVID-19 infection. I have to take care of two other seniors -- both with pre-existing conditions -- so we're all at risk. My latest political slogan: "IF you think you have a constitutional right to go unmasked in public and kill me with your COVID infection, I should have a constitutional right to bash your brains in with my Louisville Slugger."
Occasionally, I have sinus congestion. Sometimes, you can even mistake a mild sinus infection for a toothache, because the sinuses are close to the nerves around the teeth. Well, the other day, a knock came at the door. We leave the front gate unlocked for UPS, USPS, Fed-Ex, Amazon -- who all follow protocols and have the courtesy to wear N95 masks. The peep-hole in the door is inconvenient, as I wear eyeglasses. I just assumed it was a delivery person. I opened the door. There's this unmasked idiot and his unmasked assistant standing there, and he says "Termites?!" I quickly told him we'd been fumigated last year -- he had the wrong address. I should've just slammed the door in his face.
So, a week or so thereafter, I had sinus congestion, and began to worry. If I die, the whole family will die -- ungracefully. I ran a web-search.
It turned up a recent human-interest article on MSN. A doctor recommended nasal irrigation. She'd studied COVID statistics in Asian countries, and determined that about 80% of people in those countries performed routine nasal irrigation. The fatality rate in those countries -- given the number of infections -- was decidedly lower. She attributed the lower fatalities to this nasal irrigation practice, and suggests that removing viral particles from the sinuses and nose gives the body time to "figure out" how to cope with the infection.
As for the Navage -- it could be come . . . . addictive. It feels great!