Experiences using Grossan Hydro Pulse nasal irrigator

My wife has suffered from cronic sinusitis for all of her adult life. She is an international flight attendant and spends a considerable amount of time breathing the rarified air onboard planes. It really makes her already cronic problem even worse.

She has been getting allergy shots for years and with no real improvement, she was getting very discouraged. She can easily go through a half of a box of tisseus a day blowing her nose and when allergy seasons arrive, she is a total disaster.

I started researching her condition on the Internet and discovered all the wonderful results people were getting with nasal irrigation. I found several discussions about the Grossan Hydro Pulse Irrigator in an allergy newsgroup. I decided to take the plunge and buy one for her. I decided that the cost (not insignificant at almost $100) was ultimately negligible if it could provide any relief from her condition.

The unit arrived and she immediately started to use it. Believe me, this thing is not quiet by any stretch of the imiganation. Especially in the "pause" mode, it is very loud, much louder than an electric shaver or electric toothbrush for instance. Nonetheless, the sound is not that big of a deal, after all it is results we are looking for and my wife quickly decided that it was helping alleviate her sinusitis symptoms. In fact, after about a month of use, she decided to discontinue her allergy shots with no ill effects so far. The only other thing she is doing in addition to the nasal irrigation is to use fluticasone propionate nasal spray.

So the concept of nasal irrigation has proven its worth, at least as far as my wifes' condition is concerned.

Now let me talk about the Grossan machine. It is an over-priced piece of junk. The first unit we received began to leak internally after only a week of use. During and after each use, there would be a large puddle of saline solution leaking out of the bottom of the machine. My wife followed the usage instructions precisely. When we called the company to inquire about the leaking problem, we were grilled relentlessly by the person answering the phone. We were asked whether we used un-iodized salt (we were), whether we were disiinfecting the machine every week with diluted clorox (we were) and other questions pertaining to the usage and care of the machine. As I said, my wife followed the instructions in the manual precisely so we were definitely not contributing to the problem. The machine itself was the problem. The company representative stated rather coldly that "we sell hundreds of these machines every day and if there was a problem with the machine we would certainly have lots of other complaints about it." The implication was quite clear, we were being blamed for the machines failure.

Ultimately, the company said they would send a brand new replacement machine under the terms of the warranty and that we needn't return the defective machine. So we were initially quite happy about that.

The second machine arrived a few days later and started to leak in the same way as the previous machine. So this time we call the company and they tell us to send the machine back to them for repair...not replacement... and that it will take 6-8 weeks. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. Since I still had the old machine, we hooked it back up and my wife still uses it while we wait for the replacement machine to be "fixed". In the meantime I decided to take the machine apart to have a little look-see inside. Wow, what an instructive little journey that was. You would not believe how cheaply made the machine is. It consists of basically a cheap electric impulse motor and a cheesy nylon pump that propels the water from the tank through the tube/nozzle. It is easy to see why the machines leaks once you see how it is put together. In fact I don't really understand how it could not leak. It would seem that they are all destined to leak. So we wait for the "fixed" machine to arrive while the old machine continues to pour saline water all over our counter each time it is used.

In conclusion, nasal irrigation could have a profoundly positive result on your sinusitis condition but the Grossan machine is a piece of junk and I would definitely look at a standard oral irrigation unit and use a nasal tip on it. Or you could also use a non-mechanized neti pot which can be bought at CVS for about $12.

A little Google searching will reveal a chinese made oral irrigataion machine called the Oratec ViaJet Pro, selling for half the price of the Grossan machine. The Oratec ViaJet Pro sells for $45. On the surface the machines appear to be the same. I wonder if they are actually one in the same machine but just rrebranded? I'm almost willing to buy one, take it apart and discover for myself.

Anone else have a leaky Grossan Hydro Pulse Nasal Irrigation machine? Tweet