Tag Archives: pollen

Getting the snot out

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Neti Pot

For years, every Fall I used to get postnasal drip from seasonal allergies that would develop into sinus infections and splitting headaches. I was miserable. My life changed when I was introduced to the neti pot. The neti pot is a small pot made from ceramic or a lightweight plastic. It holds a warm saline solution that pours into and flows in and out of the nostrils. The pot has a handle on the side with a small, narrow spout on the opposite side used to put into the nostril. It looks like a genie’s lamp. Neti pots are used primarily for nasal cleansing, rinsing or nasal irrigation. It also helps remove pollen, pollutants, and allergens, relieves dryness and basically cleans the snot out.

After only a week of using the neti pot I became its champion, telling everyone I knew. I even gifted a couple to my friends in need. I became the neti pot “guru” explaining why, how and when. The neti pot was the only thing I used or needed for my allergies during my pregnancy and while my son was breastfeeding.

If you have pressure around your sinuses or face, sinus headaches, allergies, postnasal drip or just feel like you are coming down with a cold, I encourage you to try a neti pot. You can purchase one at most drug stores, supermarkets, co-ops or health food stores. Some come with a saline solution kit, but simple kosher salt and water works well. Some people suggest sea salt, but I found that sea salt crystals do not dissolve easily and you must be diligent to ensure that all the crystals dissolve, if not, the process could become uncomfortable and irritate your nasal cavity. Kosher salt dissolves easily in warm water.

How to use the Neti Pot:

Step 1                                                                                                                                     Mix ¼ tsp. of non-iodized or kosher salt with a cup of warm water in the neti pot until all the salt crystals have dissolved.  It is important that your water is safe from all pathogens. If you are unsure, boil it and let it cool until it is warm.

Step 2                                                                                                                                   Tilt your head over the sink, keeping the nostril you are treating pointing towards the upper corner of the wall across from you, tuck your chin in a little.

Step 3                                                                                                                              Gently, insert the neti pot spout into your nostril, and then allow the solution to gently flow into the nostril. The solution should flow through the first nostril and exit through the second nostril. If the solution goes down your throat, stop and tilt your head a little (chin in, nostril towards the top portion of the opposite wall), slowly adjust your head until all of the solution has flowed out your second nostril. If your nostril is very clogged, be patient, the solution will eventually trickle through and then eventually flow.

Step 4                                                                                                                                Once you have emptied the neti pot, bend over the sink and blow three times to clear excess water and mucus from nostrils. Wipe with tissue.

Step 5                                                                                                                              Repeat step 1 – 4 on other nostril

Step 6                                                                                                                              When both nostrils are done, bend over as if you are touching your toes and hang your head down for a minute or so to encourage all the liquid to flow out your nostrils, blow gently into a tissue.

All information is shared for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

 

Bees are amazing

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The other day while I waiting for Mathew’s school bus to arrive, I was sitting by our Calendula (Calendula officinalis) flower patch watching the honey bees collecting pollen. I find it fascinating as well as hypnotic. Some of the pollen sacks on the honey bees’ legs were HUGE. As the worker bee flew from flower to flower it packed pollen into its hairy receptacles known as pollen baskets or corbiculae, located on the mid-segments of its outer hind legs. Get this – a single hair functions as a pin that secures the middle of the pollen load and can you believe – a single bee can carry about half its own body weight in pollen. Now that’s simply amazing.

Honey bees are very efficient workers; they do not waste any pollen that they have worked so hard to collect. They moisten their forelegs with their tongues and brush the pollen that it has collected on its head, body and legs to its hind legs. The pollen is then combed, pressed, compacted, and transferred to the pollen baskets on their hind legs. They are very fast too, as it only takes an individual worker bee three to eighteen minutes to complete a pollen load and return to the hive.

Once back at the hive, the workers stuff all their pollen they collected into an awaiting cell. Unlike nectar-carrying bees, pollen-carrying bees have to unload their pollen themselves. In addition to depositing the pellets from their sacks, they will also groom away any pollen that is stuck to their bodies. They really are very efficient and don’t waste any pollen.

Honey bees usually forage only one kind of flower on any single trip. This is nature’s way of assuring that plants are cross-pollinated. Therefore, if a bee is going to blackberries, it keeps going to blackberries until there are no more blackberry flowers, and then it will switch to something else. The day I was observing the honeybees over the Calendula, the pollen was a beautiful bright yellow. Last year, when observing them collecting pollen from Holy Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) it was a vibrant red. The color was absolutely amazing almost unbelievable.

Honey bees collect pollen and nectar as food for the entire colony, and as they do, they pollinate plants. Pollen is an essential part of the honeybee’s diet, providing them a wide range of nutrients including protein, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, and minerals. The pollen contains 8 flavonoids, at least 11 carotenoids, vitamins C, E, all the Bs, all free amino acids, minerals, more than 100 enzymes and several growth regulators. The worker bees feed the pollen to the colony’s larvae, which are juvenile forms of the bees. Get ready for another amazing fact – an average-size colony may bring in 100 pounds of pollen in a season.

I tried my best to get a photo of a honey bee with a full pollen basket, but with all the movement and activity, it wasn’t easy. I hope I did it justice.bees pollen