BlogHer Swag: The gifts that keep on giving
Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 8:00AM Like many others, I came home with a boatload of swag from BlogHer '11. I covered the dining room table for days and I tried to categorize and go through it all. Some things I wanted to play with right away, some went to the kids, some to my friends/family, and some stuffed into random closets for use later on.
Last week saw a change in weather for us in Southern California. While we had still been able to wear t-shirts and flip-flops through most of the month, it suddenly turned chilly and rainy - forcing us to wear scarves and closed toed shoes. It's during this annual turn in seasons that I usually get my first sinus infection of the season, and 2011 did not disappoint. I woke up to warm air being blasted through the heater and that oh-so-wonderful feeling of a dried out nasal cavity. My head was pounding and my teeth were hurting; I knew where my head was headed.
It was then that I remembered some of the stuff I shoved in the guest room bathroom from BlogHer. Mainly the battery operated "Sinus Massager" SinuSense from Water Pik and the sample packs of Boiron's homeopathic Coldcalm pills.
While the thought of purposely shooting salt water up your nose makes most people cringe, if you have ever used one to combat a sinus infection, you know the sweet relief that they offer. I too resisted the lure of the netipot for years, and it wasn't until a particularly bad, antibiotic-tolerant sinus infection put me down for weeks that I finally succumbed to 'the pot.' So I was intrigued, and dare I say slightly excited, the other day as I pulled the Water Pik SinuSense from the box where it had been sitting since August.... and? I'm. In. LOVE.
Yes. Love.
I know. But when you're in pain, and you can't breathe, a pulsating stream of warm water gently massaging the insides of your sinuses is pure heaven. I actually found myself doing it a few times a day. Escaping into the bathroom to play with my new found love. Nothing I have ever used has offered the nasal release that the sinus massager did. It's my new best friend, and if Jason were not around I may just marry it. I think it's by far the best battery-powered object I received from BlogHer (sorry, EdensFantasys!).
The combination of my numerous sinus massages a day and the popping of the Coldcalm's have kept the ailment I was fighting away. It saved our trip to Disneyland last weekend and has probably saved Thanksgiving. So thank you BlogHer for your gifts. Thank you Boiron for your fabulous quick dissolving pills. And last but not least, Water Pik, I thank you straight from the bottom of my paranasal sinuses.
Reader Comments (1)
I am scared of the pot, I confess. I am terminally congested due to allergies, but I just live with being a mouth-breather. I, therefore, admire you and your courage :)