A Neti pot might be the allergy relief product I recommend most, both to allergy sufferers and non-allergy sufferers alike. Our neti pot is what we reach for at the first sign of a cold. And over this Thanksgiving holiday – which has been great, despite runny noses – it's the allergy relief product I used to help me feel okay even as my sinuses are congested.

I mentioned earlier in the week that our family has been slogging through our first (and hopefully only!) bout of winter colds. Everyone is pretty much over it, except for me. Though I'd never had sinus trouble of any kind before, when I was expecting our second child early this year, I caught a cold that involved my sinuses, and it was awful.

Facial pain from the pressure that had built up in my sinuses woke me up in the middle of the night, it was that bad. I took a steaming shower, softly pummeled my cheekbones under my eyes with my fingers to help loosen the mucus, and of course used the neti pot. This all helped enough that I could go back to sleep, but I did go in to see the doctor the next day.

Unfortunately, my internal medicine doctor had never heard of a neti pot and seemed at a loss when I told him that my teeth were hurting from the pressure. I couldn't take any of the regular decongestants because I was pregnant, and I didn't even like using what I was able to take. I was really thankful for the short- and long-term relief that my neti pot provided, though.

At an appointment with my midwife later that week, she was extremely concerned about my continued congestion. There is so much more fluid in general in the body during pregnancy, and specifically, more mucus. This is why many women are persistently slightly congested during pregnancy. She told me that I had to pay very close attention to getting the congestion cleared out so that an infection didn't develop – antibiotics were not something I wanted to be taking in the early stages of pregnancy either.

Using a humidifier and the neti pot regularly, and drinking lots of fluid, I made it through with no infection, thankfully. Unfortunately, it seems like since then my sinuses are "weak," for lack of better words; every time I get a slight cold, the facial and tooth pain starts up – and lingers. And, as always, I reach straight for my neti pot. After using it, I feel the relief immediately, and for a while afterwards, mucus continues to drain out, relieving pressure and forestalling the possibility of infections.

I tell all my friends to use a neti pot when they are sick or suffering from allergies, and I really think it should be one of those things found in every medicine cabinet.