What is a neti pot? Can it help with allergies and sinus problems?

It may look like a watering can or a genie bottle, but a neti pot—or "nose bidet"—may actually be the answer to your sinus woes. For thousands of years, Dr. Oz says people have been using similar devices to wash out their noses.

By pouring warm water from the neti pot into your nose, you can stimulate your sinuses and help clear out mucus. If the fluid builds up in your sinuses and causes pressure, you will experience pain, Dr. Oz says. This condition is known as sinusitis—inflammation of the sinuses.

Watch the T.V.segment at this link:

http://www2.oprah.com/videochannel/videochannel_player.jhtml?video=542&category=18

"A lot of folks that have allergies, who have sinusitis, that have conditions that we treat with medications are equally well treated by actually washing the areas of your body," he says. "When you think about it … you wash your underarms. You have bidets. Why wouldn't you wash a pretty important part of your body, your sinuses, in the same fashion?"

If your sinuses are working normally, they will clean themselves. "That's why you blow your nose," he says.