Inside Voice-over Newsletter - Thursday, June 14th, 2007

I'm noticing a lot of people sneezing lately. Could be a cold, but it's more than likely springtime allergies. Allergies and upper respiratory infections have a big impact on the sound of your voice. And if your voice is your livelihood, like mine is, it's especially important to keep it in tip- top shape. So what's a talker to do?

A few years ago, when I was suffering from a sinus infection, my ear, nose and throat doctor suggested I rinse my nasal passages with a saline solution using something called a "neti pot". I tried it and it worked! A neti pot is a small ceramic vessel with a spout specifically designed to rinse the nose. You can find one in just about any health food store. People in India have been using them for centuries.

Here's how it works. First prepare a special saline solution. Here's the recipe:
Andy Rooney

Clean a 1-quart glass jar carefully then fill with bottled or filteredwater. You do not need to boil the water.

Add 2-3 heaping teaspoons of pickling, kosher or canning salt. DO NOT use table salt because it contains additives. You can also buy special additive-free neti pot salt at the health food store.

Add 1 rounded teaspoon of baking soda (pure bicarbonate).

Store at room temperature and shake or stir before each use

Make a new batch weekly

To use, fill your neti pot with the mixture. You may warm it to body temperature if you like. Make sure it is NOT hot or you could burn the delicate nasal passages. Tilt your head to one side, as if you were resting on a pillow, and then gently pour the saline solution into your nose while standing in the shower or over a sink. The saline solution will rinse your sinuses and drain out the opposite nostril. Then tilt your head in the other direction and repeat. Gently blow your nose as needed. You know you are doing the irrigation correctly when the solution drains out the opposite nostril. If you can't find a neti pot, try using a sports bottle with a pop-up nipple. In this case, squirt the solution into each nostril, turning your head to each side as above.

When fighting a cold, I've experimented with adding colloidal silver to the neti pot solution and it seemed to work well. Colloidal silver is a powerful antiseptic available in the health food store. I use very little, no more than 1/2 of a teaspoon. When I feel a cold coming on I also gargle with a few droppers of liquid Echinacea in warm water and use Zicam, a homeopathic zinc remedy, found near the nasal sprays in most drug stores. The key to these remedies is to catch the cold early, when you feel even the slightest symptom or drop in your energy.