Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Sniffle, sniffle, sneeze. Allergies, anyone?

You might have read my review of the WaterPik Ultra WaterFlosser yesterday. Well, part of the review package was another item called the SinuSense, also made by WaterPik. This device performs the same function as a neti pot or nasal spray, but it runs on batteries.

To be honest, I'm not awfully fond of the idea of liquid going up my nose. I blame my mother. I still have vivid memories of her trying to get nasal spray up my nose when I was a little kid. Even now, the idea of that medicated goo makes me squeamy.

But I still had to review the product. Who could test it for me? I glanced at the dog, and she was glaring back at me with a slightly raised lip. Not a likely volunteer.

Then my husband came home. "Hey, look, honey! I got you a present!"


Mister Cookistry had been dealing with some stuffy nose issues, and he was more than happy to trade his squeeze bottle nose spray for something a little more high-tech.

That went better than I expected. Hehe.

I explained to him that he was going to have to give me his opinions of the product because I wasn't going to hang around and watch the process. I'm pretty sure I would have been saying "eeewwww" the whole time, which probably wouldn't have been helpful.

At this point, he's been using the SinuSense for a few days.

The verdict? So far so good. The SinuSense pulses the water just like the WaterPik Ultra WaterFlosser, but at a much gentler flow rate, which makes perfect sense. You're not trying to wash your brain, after all.

At the same time, it pushes through a much larger volume of water than the squeezey-bottle my very willing volunteer had been using previously. He said that so far, it seems to be doing a much better job keeping him un-stuffy and the powder that was included to mix with the water is soothing. I checked the ingredient list, and it's basically a saline mix with a few extra natural ingredients.
 
He also said that the device was easy to use, the instructions were clear, and overall, he didn't see any potential problems with it. He's giving it two thumbs up. The dog and I have no opinion at all.

If you're interested, WaterPik has a coupon for you.
There's also a Facebook page for this product.
And a YouTube video.

For this review, I received this produce free of charge, along with a small monetary compensation. 

Note: I got a comment from one of my regular readers that said that my previous WaterPik post might have been too commercial and too far from food. Well, maybe. It's something I thought about, too. But when I finally agreed to do these two posts (and it was a two-fer so I couldn't just pick one) my first thought was that I absolutely love the waterflosser, so I've got no qualms about recommending it, either in person or on this blog. My second thought was that Mr. Cookistry had been having some sinus issues, so I figured that this second product might be useful for him. If not, then no loss here.

My third thought was about whether my readers (see, I do think about you) would be interested in these sorts of products. Obviously, it's not food-related, but it seems to me that people who like the recipes I make are also probably interested in health-related products of this type.

I joined the "Build a Better Me" event way back in January, and I have to admit that I haven't posted a lot about it since then. These posts could easily fit that category. Some of the other folks have posted about personal trainers and exercise. Good oral/sinus health seems just as related. I don't think I'll be doing a LOT of non-food posts, but if I find a product that I really like and I want to blab about it, I will, whether it's compensated or not.
Yum