After the two tragic Neti Pot deaths in Louisiana, it is necessary to rethink about what you put in your nose when you irrigate.

BABY SHAMPOO
In particular, your doctor may be recommending adding baby shampoo to your Hydro Pulse® Nasal Sinus Irrigator.

Question? Does it matter which brand? Yes! The original research was reported on using Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. Are other brands equally safe and effective? Frankly I don’t know and I would not take the time and effort to find out if the “store brand” or Costco brand is equal. I would use the Johnson Baby Shampoo.

WHEN TO USE IT
When do you use it? Shampoo has products called surfactants. They loosen various oils and similar products. Many doctors recommend adding the surfactant when the mucus is colored or very thick in order to help remove thick mucus. When the infection has been present a long time and has been resistant to treatment, the infection may be complicated because of biofilm.

What Concentration? The original study was for a !% solution. That is one teaspoon to the 500 cc mark in the Hydro Pulse bowl. I do not recommend a greater concentration. This should be in saline, for example, one teaspoon of Breathe.ease XL or the packet added to the 500 cc mark of the Hydro Pulse® basin. Then add one teaspoon of the shampoo.

BIOFILM
Bacteria can form Biofilm, and when they do, therapy is difficult. Bacteria start out free floating and some attach to the nasal mucosa. As they multiply, some are changed to make a thick coating that covers the colony. This prevents the action of normal body defenses to dislodge the bacteria. This also prevents the antibiotic that is normally ingested by mouth from effectively reaching the bacteria. The nebulizer products don’t dislodge the biofilm colonies. Research has shown that most antibiotics will effect the outer layers, but not the inner layers of the biofilm colonies, which is why dislodging the biofilm is so important.
Increasing the concentration of the antibiotic is often effective against these colonies. If you increase the concentration of antibiotic via nebulizer, considerable concern is that this also gets to the lungs, unlike the method of delivering antibiotic via pulsatile irrigation.
To date, pulse wave irrigation with surfactin is known to be the most effective way to dislodge biofilm colonies. When pulsatile irrigation is used, the concentration of medication can be raised to an effective level, strong enough to penetrate the biofilm cover, because it doesn’t get into the lungs.

? USE IT DAILY?
I do not recommend adding the baby shampoo daily. If the thick mucus is cleared, there is no advantage to continuing to use the shampoo daily. .Once the nose/sinuses are normal, doesn’t need to be more normal.

WHEN YOU USE ANTIBIOTICS
Whey your doctor has prescribed adding antibiotics to the Hydro Pulse® irrigation, I recommend not using the shampoo in the same mixture. At this point we don’t know if the shampoo might affect the activity of the antibiotic that is used via the hydropulse. If you are using Pulmicort added to the Hydro Pulse® ask your doctor about using the shampoo at the same time.