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Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt for Sinus Infections

| Modified on Mar 31, 2025
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Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Tomlin (Frisco, Tx) on 07/01/2017
 ★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I am so grateful to have found these posts and my cure. Having used 3%HP for gurgling to disinfect my throat for several years, I don't know why it took me so long to think of looking up HP for my sinus infections which usually last about 3 weeks. When I get a cold which is like 2-3 times a year, the mucus is clear on the first day, then turns to thick and yellowish suffocating globs that drains for weeks. I tried using distilled water with the prepacked salt packets that I get from the drug stores but that only helps to briefly clear the sinus and the yellow mucous keeps coming back. The post nasal drip gives me a frog-in-my-throat feel and causes me to chock constantly. Antibiotics takes too long and who know what else it is doing to my body.

After getting a cold, this time in the middle of summer, I decided to give HP sinus rinse a try. Based on the everyone's input, here are some tips that help cleared up my sinus infection in about two days.

* Always have these supplies on hand so you don't have to run to the market when you feel a cold coming on.

(1) Unopened one gallon of distilled water which is only fresh for about one week after it's opened. (Do not use filtered drinking water, RO or tap water.)

(2) Premixed sinus (salt) packets (they come in 100 packet boxes) from the drug store near the neti pot section. (Do not use cooking salt.)

(3) 3% HP

(4) Baking Soda

(5) Clean disinfected dispenser: neti pot, sinus rinsing bubble or use your nostrils to suck up the liquid mixture from the edge of a cup's edge (a short cut that may require some skills).

* Don't vary too much from 1 teaspoon of 3% HP for 6 oz of distilled water or you risk an ineffective solution or getting your sinus burned. If you are afraid of getting burned, use 1/2 teaspoon of 3% HP and work your way up to 1 teaspoon. Don't be tempted to add more HP thinking it will be more effective. When I tried to add more HP, it stings badly and swelled up my sinus for a couple of hours. Add a pinch of baking soda if you have it in your kitchen and stir to dissolve the solids.

* Get in front of a sink, upon flooding your sinus tilt your forehead down towards the sink drain (watch out for the tap, lol), then turn you right ear towards the drain for a few seconds then your left ear. These positions enable the solution to flood different parts of your sinus. Lift your head and allow the solution to drain drain from your nostrils. Wipe what ever that comes out so you don't contaminate the area near your nostrils with tap water. If you want to blow your nose do not blow hard and do not block one nostril to blow out the other since too much pressure may cause the solution to seep into unintended tubes connected to your sinus. To rinse the area between the sinus and the throat, you should keep an upright position throughout the flooding and keep your mouth open. The draining will gravitate towards your throat so it can be redirect to your month to be spit out into the sink. Do not swallow the solution.

* You might want to do this rinse upon waking up, just before bedtime and optionally an additional rinse in between. You should see the mucus clear up within a day. I hope it works for you as well it did for me :-)

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Dctorlynn1 (Arizona) on 01/25/2016
 ★★★★★

As a chiropractor, we generally preach letting the body heal itself. I have to admit that getting adjusted has reduced my sinus infections to once every couple years instead of three times a year.

I started with a cold last week. (Worse thing ever for a chiro because we have to lean over people.) I even took two days off. I broke down and started anti-biotics 4 days in, which I hate to admit. It got better, but still a lot of sinus pressure. For some reason I thought about HP in a neti pot. Your site was very helpful.

Three capfuls of hydrogen peroxide and saline powder is what I used. I was SHOCKED at what came out. Quite a bit of (this will be gross) very thick rusty colored mucus...more than I ever thought possible. No matter of blowing my nose could get this stuff out. I'll repeat three times a day until completely resolved.

I feel GREAT! Thank you so much. I'll pass this along to my patients.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by MissM (New York ) on 11/08/2020

I got rid of my terrible sinus issue from Covid by purchasing a sea salt spray then adding a few drops of 2 per cent of Lugol's iodine. This cleared my problem up quickly. You will use it and your nose will drain, use a tissue to blow out excess.

This works and you can use it if you feel like you are coming down with cold, or virus.

I read about this as preventative for Covid. Was desperate as I was long hauler for 7 months from leftover Covid.

Works for me and it's cheap!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Alyda (Calgary, AB) on 06/09/2023
 ★★★★★

Thirty years after a botched root canal (dentist punctured my sinus cavity with his root reamer) and a million sinus infections I finally found this website. I was skeptical (and worried) that this wouldn't work for me but I was wrong! I used a cup of distilled water, a packet of saline solution, and a capful of 3% HP solution. No irritation, and my stubborn left side is starting to loosen up. Hallelujah!!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Michelle (Salem, MA) on 01/03/2022
 ★★★★★

This also kills Covid in your nostrils and throat. I lost my taste and smell after 3 weeks and loosing 10 lbs due to lack of appetite I decided to use my neti pot. After 2 days of using my neti pot 3 times a day both days my taste and smell both started to return.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Bob (Miami, Florida) on 05/03/2007
 ★★★★★

I've been flooding my sinuses with Hydrogen Peroxide, Baking Soda and Kosher Salt for over five years. It has totally healed my nasal membranes and I no longer get sinus infections, and I very seldom have to do any type of sinus flooding anymore. My sinuses feel great!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Patrick (Ohio) on 07/09/2016
 ★★★☆☆

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

I was getting desperate. I tried the Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt remedy and it worked great the first attempt. I used 1 part HP 4 parts boiled water in a sinus rinse bottle with one packet of salt. It cleared everything out and I could breathe freely. I was on cloud nine! It stung like a bad word though. Soon after I began to have symptoms again but this time my nasal passages were pretty clogged. I tried again and this time without as much luck. The sinuses clogged due to swelling after my first attempt. When I did the rinse this time, some of the fluid went down my throat and into my stomach. If anyone has ever ingested HP they will know how I felt. I used 3% HP concentration and diluted it so it wasn't necessarily harmful to my health but it caused a lot of gas and pressure. All very concerning when you can't breathe from your nose. Either way if you want to try this method I highly recommend sticking with very small amounts of HP and slowly work your way up as you feel comfortable. If you have clogged sinuses please use lower concentrations of HP and rinse more frequently. The suggestion on this site was half a teaspoon with 8 oz of water. I wouldn't start with any more than that.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Katie (Westport, Ct) on 12/24/2011
 ★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Hydrogen peroxide and sea salt in a neti pot - A big YEA for me!!

This remedy is fantastic and gave me immediate relief! Thank you to all who posted their sinus infection remedies. After trying out a bunch of remedies without much luck, this one cured my sinus infection very quickly. I also took grapefruit seed extract as well and I think that helped as well.

A neti pot (or the plastic kind you find in the pharmacy, which is what I used) filled with:
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon hydrogen peroxide (3%)
and warm water

cured my sinus infection in a few hours. I did this twice a day and continue to do it at least once a day for my remaining sinus congestion.

I am grateful I didn't have to resort to antibiotics!!!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Kevin (Richmond, VA) on 03/12/2020
 ★★★★★

For the Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt remedy, I would use only distilled water, other water additives would cause a burning sensation.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Rameika (West Haven, CT) on 11/07/2020
 ★★★★★

When using hp only in a nasal spray, it's more effective even when your sinuses is clogged from it, it works better. Big chunks of mucus comes out but yes it does burn sometimes

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Faith (Pdx) on 05/04/2015
 ★★★★★

My medical doctor could not figure out why my sinus infection was not going away. Finally he figured it was biofilms. He put me on chelating agent with atomizer 3x a day then I would wait 15 minutes then use a capful of 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide with pinch or two of sea salt in my neti pot filled with distilled water then I would tip my head down towards the ground while on my knees and just hold it for 10 minutes. This cleared my sinus infection straight away.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Joe (New York, Ny) on 06/05/2013
 ★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I use the hydrogen peroxide netti pot irrigation remedy for my sinus infections and it works great. I alternate with salt water to wash away any remaining hydrogen peroxide. I'm going to add the ACV as a supplement as well. My sinus infections won't go away with antibiotics but this does the trick. a few words of caution. It doesn't take much hydrogen peroxide. I use a small amount from a dropper and that is powerful enough once mixed in with a netti pot. Be careful over doing it because I think you can end up irritating the sinuses rather than healing them. Also you want to use filtered water as some parasites live in tap water and while tap water is safe to drink, these parasites can get into your body via the nasal passage. There are cases of this and those parasites are dangerous, even if rare.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Nicole (Dallas, Texas) on 05/23/2011
 ★★★★★

I have been miserable with a sinus infection for about 8 days and found relief when I tried the Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt steam. I hadn't been able to breathe through my nostrils and I had enough so I google home rememdies for sinus infections and came across this amazing website! I boiled a small pot of water and poured the water into a nice size bowl. I added 2 tbs of sea salt and hydrogen peroxide. I used a towel to cover my head to make sure none of the steam escaped. The first minute of holding my head in the steam I felt movement. My nose started dripping and my left nostril opened. I could breathe! I couldn't handle the steam for more than 10 minutes. I tried the steam again later in the day and my right nostril opened. I was able to breathe! Love love love love love this website!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by yve (usa) on 02/23/2025

I was surprised the site didn't get taken down! A while back I watched a guy talked about how he got all sorts of mysterious sickness, on Netflix, and no one could diagnose him. it went on quite a while. doctors suggested it was in his head. so, he went searching for answer and found an article mentioned on how root canal could affect your health. it happened that his health problems began after he had a root canal. he then got rid of that root canal, his health gradually improved and fully recovered a few years afterwards. I suggested the film to a dentist friend, she watched and then contacted the Netflix, complained the film spread false information and misleading, should be taken down! Netflix did just that!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Mary (St Paul, Mn) on 02/23/2016
 ★★★★★

I was thrilled when a friend suggested this, as I'd been using a neti pot for a sinus infections for three days which it did nothing but cause a painful post-nasal drip down the right side of my throat. My Father, who had been pre-med but grown up on a poor farm, always has us gargle with salt and HP when anything was coming on and it usually did the trick ~ but that was 40 years ago! Nevertheless, the combination wasn't foreign to me so I gave it a try (your ratios). Quite an eye-watering fizz but wow, not even the pain caused by just the salt (about 1/4 tsp) in the net pot. I was grateful to the chiropractor, though, as you didn't give any sense of how often to rinse ~ although he didn't give ratios, and I want to know: 3 capfuls (instead of 1/2 tsp) of HP in how much water, with how much salt? This ~ is ~ the ticket, though, and as someone who had almost constant sinus infections as a kid, yes: we all know that when the gross stuff starts coming out (and this finally caused that) wellness has begun. (I've been stuck in the house and my kitchen is being redone so had no access to my water filter. I boiled tap water for 20 minutes ~ as we used to to be able to drink it in the early '70's when living in Indonesia. But not a minute less...) Many thanks!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Bill (St. Croix, Virgin Islands) on 10/18/2015
 ★★★★★

Peroxide Sinus Rinse:

Does it burn? If yes, you are using too strong a mixture. I use 1/2 teaspoon of salt - 1 teaspoon of 3 percent peroxide in 8 oz. water. WORKS GREAT. With only a very mild sensation, not a burn at all.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Decolia (Oklahoma City, Ok, USA) on 07/25/2011
 ★★★★★

I'm currently pregnant so I'm really limited in what I can take medication wise for any colds, allergies or infections. I recently tried the Peroxide, Salt, and saline wash method. So far it's the only thing that's really done much at all to help with my sinus pressure and pain. I am also drinking Apple Cider Vinegar at each meal. I feel that between the two it is really helping and there's nothing in either of these things that will adversely affect my baby. I love home remedies!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Richie (Newport, NC) on 02/21/2007
 ★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I have been taking pain killers for four(4) months now, have noticed mucus was becoming very thick and amber in color. being a person who pays attention to what comes out of my body, I became alarmed. I do not not like the idea of taking prescriptions, but at the time this was my option. Anyway, long story short; found your site, agree with most of your cures, but I also know that one size does not fit all. I tried most of your sinus remedies, paid attention to what ingredients were working, and found a simple technique to drain sinuses early morning w/little prep work. Turn on hot water, grab coffee cup, put 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp H202, small amount of hot water( enough to make paste out of sea salt) take q-tip, dip in solution until saturated, put in nostril , tilt head back and inhale deep. This will make you cry, but your sinuses will drain immediately. I suppose, just based on my own exp. that when taking meds, the binders in the meds that can't or don't get broke down find something else to bind to in your body. For me, it has been my mucus. Which also lends me to believe that the cure is worst then the disease, because we don't know how long these things can stay in our system or what else they are attaching them selves to that can become problematic over the course of your life.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Mike (Newton, NJ) on 10/25/2006
 ★★★★★

After suffering for three days with my twice/yr sinus infection and not getting any sleep, I wandered into the computer room @ 2am and did a search for a homemade remedy. I grew up visiting a grandmother who NEVER had a medicine in her house. It was always a 'concoction' that usually tasted horrible, but worked like a charm (ie. fresh cracked pepper in a shot of brandy before bedtime when you had a head cold. Tell that one to child services, but it put you out and you woke up without any symptoms! 100% better than Nyquil) Anyhow.....since it was so early in the morning and I couldn't find a eye dropper without waking the rest of the clan, I improvised with placing 3 TBS of peroxide, 3 TBS of salt in a bowl (don't use stainless steel, trust me!) and added boiling water. With a towel over my head for 15 minute, it work wonders, enough to let me go to sleep....until 6am, when WHAM! I awoke to the cool rush of air that hit my now clear sinuses!!!! I actually felt the pop and the rush it was so intense. I will never suffer through a sinus infection, that usually went into my chest for a few weeks, again!

God bless everyone who posts these remedies and I look forward to seeing if my recent BP reading of 150/102 will decrease with a little apple cider vinegar! Can't go wrong with Mother Nature.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Bill (Coventry, Uk) on 04/28/2016
 ★★★★★

I've tried all kinds of treatments and had three operations to cure my Sinus problems.Nothing made it better - some made it worse. I can tell you now that this worked for me. Four days using a squeeze bottle and I can breathe again after years of suffering.Can't believe how good it feels.Thank You.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by crabby (fema 3) on 10/16/2022

For all who care, you can cut any percentage of food grade by '' dividing what you want into what you have ''.. cut with distilled water..

example: you have 35% and you want 3%..

3 div into 35 = 11-ish.. 1 part 35 %,, 11 parts water = strong 3%..

'' a part '' is whatever you want to use for the one .. just use the same for the 11 parts..

can also come in handy for cutting down Everclear 190 proof grain alcohol..

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Len (Nyc) on 07/16/2016

HI Everyone!

I have gone thru 3 operations for nasal polyps and the procedure was with laser so there was no pain at all. The last one I had was 3 years ago and they have started coming back in full force! The home remedies are working and I can feel the change but you need to be very careful with the amount you use. I tried applying the hydrogen peroxide directly with a dropper and it stung like crazy which should have told me it was too much. I started experiencing real stuffiness as a result and just laid off for a day. The same with tree tea oil which is very effective in small amounts in a netti pot or using a q tip and working it in for a few seconds on each side. I put 2 drops once on each side of my nose and it was like a major blow out. I got teary eyed, and so congested I could not go to bed for a few hours. The q tip and a few drops (2 or 3) in a netti pot with a few drops of eucalyptus oil and a few drops of grape seed extract are very good. I like the tips on just a capful of HP and a pinch of sea salt. I'm going to try using that. If you are getting strong stinging sensations that is your body telling you to lighten up and it could have the reverse effect on inflamming your nasal cavities.

There are some wonderful homeopathic products for bacteria, fungus, virus and inflammation that really work. Another neti pot solution is colloidal silver drops with a few drops of HP. Very warm water is excellent or even hotter that your nasal passages can take without burning are good to use in the netti in comparison to a cooler or just light warm. All the best! Len

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Marie (Clawson, Michigan) on 05/21/2009
 ★★★★★

WOW!!!! Yes it clears your sinus cavities right up. I tried it without the baking soda, not recommended. The burning was strong, I beleive the baking soda stabilizes the vinigar. BUT IT DID WORK RIGHT AWAY!! .... ;o)

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Cathy (Pittsburgh, PA) on 01/26/2008
 ★★★★★

The H20 Peroxide rinse cleared my sinuses! I can't believe it! Hang your head back, let it drip in..IT BURNS!!!!!! But it is well worth it, believe me! You blow your nose like crazy, sneeze like crazy, then you can breathe, and pressure and pain is SO much better! Thank you so much for this website!!!!!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Kellie (Frisco, Tx, Usa) on 03/10/2010
 ★★★★★

I wanted to give an update. I am now totally sinus infection free! As of 10 days ago I have not had any sign of an infection. I'm working to use less of each of the remedies, but so far, I find I do take everything in the morning with 2 more doses of vinegar throughout the day. I've also found that instead of 2TB ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) 3x's a day, if I mix 3TB in a large glass and sip it all day long I get much better results. I feel great! If I skip a day of ACV, I do notice I start to sniffle and my nose runs a bit. I think the ACV is a great solution and I'll keep using it! Thanks to everyone for the great advice!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Ben (Los Angeles, California) on 08/02/2010
 ★★★★★

All you need is:
It took three days doing this 2-3 times daily to get rid of the sinus infection. I mixed the following in 1 cup of water microwaved at 30 sec (use reverse Osmosis or purified water or boil the water), if boiling the water you must let the water cool to touch. I use RO water and microwave for 30 seconds:

2ml Hydrogen Peroxide
1/4 tsp kosher sea salt
1/2 tsp of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
Mix well, use low pressure sinus rinse bottle. Start with the nasal passage that you feel has the most sinus pressure (empty 1/3 of the bottle into this passage) then use the rest of the fluid to flush the other nasal passage.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Xlntmommy (Palm Beach County, Fl, Usa) on 08/21/2011
 ★★★★☆

I see people writing about a sinus infection "for 6 months" or "the past year".. Whereas I hav had sinus pressure/problems for over ~20~ years. I tried the antibiotics that dry out the nasal passages, I hav been prescribed the daily "allergy" pill(s), I regularly put a cold soda/can from the fridge each morning to alleviate the swelling and headache I hav for several hours after I wake up.. I even drink copius amounts of (any) drink filled to the top with ice as the coldness would also help my constantly-swollen throat, because of the drip-that-never-ends. It has been years and years and I hav even had procedures done, and noticed a gradual improvement (which took months to notice) but was minimal and didn't last. I had resigned myself to just having to put up with this, until I happened upon this site.

I didn't try the ACV remedy. I tried the H202, baking soda and salt irrigation. I lighten my hair sometimes so used a smaller, pointy-tipped bottle from that. I also did not mix the h202 in a 50/50 ration, but instead used:

one cap-ful of h202

2 pinches of baking soda

1 pinch salt

in about 4-6 oz. of warm tap water. I hav a worse hedache after doing this, hence I only hav done it once/day, in the AM. I get no "flooding" but do hav a drip still at the back of my throat, but it is different now, and the biggest thing is that I can breathe! For the first time in decades I can inhale and exhale almost completely, through my nose. I hav only done this "irrigation" for about 4 days now, but again, I notice more of difference than ANY of the things I hav tried for over 2 decades. The H202 "burns" a little, and I don't get "blood". My right nostril was clear after the second day, and I am continuing until my left nostril (the worst one) is clear. I plan on doing this in intervals whenever I feel a "flare up". I am sure this is the answer for my problem and I am SO GRATEFUL for this site.

~MOMMY, Palm Beach County, FLORIDA

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Cindy (Cochrane, Wi) on 12/09/2009
 ★★★★★

i wanted to respond to this posting from several years ago. i just tried it as EVERY other remedy seemed to make congestion of a cold worse. as i write this i have relief and can breath much better.i plan to continue with this remedy. i did also add acv to the mixture. as a side note of my own i accidentally found i got short term relief from having my hands in hot water, would open sinuses.after looking at a reflexology book there are sinus points on each finger, maybe that's why. thank you earth clinic.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Sea Salt
Posted by Emily (Denver, Co) on 09/02/2009
 ★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

BAD NEWS!!!! This was horrible!!! WARNING, STAY AWAY!!! I have used sea salt rinses for my sinuses many a time with my netty pot, and I love those, but I started getting a wicked sinus infection and thought I'd look up some other remedies to knock it out before it became full-blown. I had a root canal and then was in LA (all the smoke from those fires really killed me), and knew it would be a humdinger! Looking at this recipe, I thought maybe they meant teaspoons instead of tablespoons, because tablespoons seem really excessive. I'm glad I used teaspoons, because I might have passed out had I not. I followed the directions, let the mixture cool to room temperature and filled my netty pot and poured into my right nostril very slowly. Instantly I felt horrible pain in my sinuses, chest, throat and ear. I thought my ear was bleeding! I really did. I started jumping up and down and running cold water on my head because I was in so much pain. My dog and boyfriend came running to my aid, but I couldn't even find my words to tell him what was wrong. The worst part is the ear pain lasted for a full five minutes, my throat hurts worse, my ear still feels achy, and my sinuses feel just as bad as they did before!! I say stay far, far away from this deadly concoction. I'll stick to hot tea and 1c water to 1tsp sea salt in my netty pot from now on. That was the worst!


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