How To Rinse Your Nose In 5 Steps - Hibernia Medical (2025)

Rinsing your nose with salt helps remove mucus, snot and crusts from your nose. If you have hay fever, allergies or a cold, you can continue with relief after rinsing your nose. How should you rinse your nose? Follow these steps!

Follow the steps below when rinsing your nose with salt:

Put salt in the nasal douche
Add 250ml of water
Rinse your nose
Gently blow your nose
Clean your nasal douche
Step 1. Put salt in the nasal douche
To rinse your nose, start by preparing a salt-water solution. Your body naturally has a salt content, which is why rinsing with water alone irritates your nose.

Nasal rinse salt from DOS Medical was developed by ENT doctors. It consists of a mix of sodium chloride (NaCl) and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). This combination – in combination with water – provides an extra cleaning effect. And a bag of nasal rinse salt contains just the right amount of salt for 250ml of water.

So step 1 is: put a bag of nasal rinse salt in the nasal douche.

You can also rinse your nose without a nasal douche, but it is better to use a little more pressure. With a nasal irrigator you can easily rinse your nose with some pressure.

View our blog here: Which salt is for nasal rinses?

Step 2. Add 250ml water
Then fill the nasal douche with approximately 250ml of lukewarm tap water. You can then mix the salt-water solution with a spoon or shake it gently in the nasal douche.

In this case, fill the Nasofree nasal douche up to the neck of the bottle. Rinsing with less salt or only with water is very irritating to the nose.

Step 2. Add 250ml water

Step 3. Rinse your nose
Bend your head forward over the sink.
Place the nasal douche diagonally (at an angle of approximately 45°) in one of your nostrils (see image).
Gently squeeze the nasal douche. The fluid can flow back through the same nostril (in case of blockage) or through the other nostril. Therefore, always leave the other nostril free and do not block it.
Blow your nose lightly between rinses.
Repeat the rinse in the other nostril. You can alternate nostrils until the nasal douche is empty.

Step 4: Gently blow your nose
When the nasal douche is empty, you can quietly let the water drip from your nose. Gently blow your nose.

PLEASE NOTE: after nose surgery, it may be advisable not to blow your nose.

If your nose is still clogged, you can repeat the nasal rinse with saline. Depending on the complaints, you can rinse your nose as needed. Usually this is 1 to 4 times a day.

Step 5: Clean the nasal douche
You can clean the nasal douche with water and a drop of dishwashing liquid. Then rinse the nasal douche well with water and let it air dry.

PLEASE NOTE: DO NOT clean the nasal douche in the dishwasher or in boiling/hot water.

After rinsing your nose, you can continue with your day with relief.

Questions about nasal rinses with salt
How often can you rinse your nose?
You can actually rinse your nose with salt as often as you like. It can’t hurt.

The guideline:

When exposed to dust or polluted air, once a day.
Preventive in case of respiratory allergy or minor complaints 1-2x per day.
In case of moderate to severe constipation, crusting or infection, 2-4 times a day.
Is rinsing the nose with salt harmful?
Rinsing your nose with salt does no harm. The only thing that can happen is that some salt water can get into your throat or your tube or Eustachian, but that also has no negative effect.

Does rinsing your nose hurt?
Rinsing your nose with a good salt-water solution does not hurt. It can be a somewhat uncomfortable feeling because you are not used to it. But after rinsing the nose there is relief.

Rinsing your nose can hurt if, for example, you rinse only with water, rinse with salt with iodine or if there is perhaps too much blockage in the nose. In the latter case, go to your doctor or ENT specialist.

What is rinse salt with xylitol?
There are ‘normal’ nasal rinse salts and salt rinses with xylitol. Salt rinse with xylitol has been specially developed for people with chronic sinusitis.

Xylitol has a very strong effect against bacteria, because it breaks down the ‘biofilm’ around a bacteria. This means that the bacteria are less able to remain in your nose and are therefore washed away more easily. This way you will suffer less often from inflammation in your nose.

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