During the cold and flu season I’ve always sworn by my trusty neti pot to keep my sinuses clear. Yeah, it’s one of those weird hippie things one picks up living in California, but it works. Even El Yenta Man, a violent anti-hippie who gags at the first whiff of patchouli, can be seen over the sink every winter with water pouring from his nostrils.

For those of you still popping the Claritin, a neti pot is a small ceramic dish that resembles something one’s small daughter might abscond with to make a tea party for her teddy bears but is actually for the purpose of washing one’s nasal passages with warm salt water. Click here to read about the many health bennies of neti cleansing.

Neti pots come in a variety of porcelain and ceramic models, but leave it to a Jewish doctor to improve upon the basic variation of the model the yogis of India have used for millenia:

According to the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, Dr. Hana Solomon of Missouri has created a “new twist” on nasal cleansing with Nasopure, a soft blue bottle that comes with salt packets. It’s convenient and inexpensive with an angled neck and wide tip for comfort and cleanliness. Plus, it’s safe to take in the shower.

And it’s much less likely that you’ll find it filled with grape juice in the hands of stuffed animal when you need it.