Have you tried adding a bit more plain water to the irrigation solution
until the irritation heals up? Also - The Breathease preparation does work
better than plain salt/soda mix if you have severe nose irritation. Much
easier on the nose and sinuses. Unfortunately it's too expensive to keep
using all the time, so when my nasal irritation and tenderness cleared, I
switched to mixing the solution myself and now have no problems with nostril
irritation.

The only given for me is holding the irrigation tip flush against my
nostril. Doesn't matter how I hold the handle. I do move the position around
slightly every couple seconds to redirect the irrigation solution in order
to best dislodge the mucus.  YMMV

Another important tip for irrigating is to RELAX while irrigating. If I'm
too tense I have a tendency to turn my head or blow my nose or other actions
that really don't help with the irrigation process.

Don't expect too much too soon. It took me a week of 2-3 times a day
irrigation to see any improvement at all and at least a month of daily
irrigations before I felt like I was significantly improving.    Have
patience.       AW

I've been reading some of your posts and it looks like you might have
the same problem I had.  My sinuses were also dry with no discharge,
but there was pressure, pain and swelling that made it hard to breath
through my nose, especially at night.  When I first started irrigating
any amount of salt would be very uncomfortable, so a doctor suggested
that I use only baking soda.  I got good results with baking soda, but
eventually switched back to salt.  (If you try baking soda, use twice
as much baking soda as you would salt.  I worked my way up to 3 or 4
tablespoons of baking soda and then gradually switched back to salt.)

In my opinion, the burn you are getting is a good thing because it
stimulates the immune system to heal the infected tissue and the
salt will also kill and flush out some of the surface bacteria.  I
have always irrigated with more salt than is normally recommended, but
I only irrigate two or three times a week so tissue will have time to
heal.  I have tried daily irrigation with less salt about three times
and each time it made things worse.  (I accidently used plain water
once and it was much worse than using 3 teaspoons of salt.)  Now I use
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of salt to a pint of water and there is no
discomfort.  If I go over 2 teaspoons there is little burning, but
normally I don't do this because my sinuses are not infected.

 For pulsatile irrigation, one teaspoonfull of salt and between
 a pinch and 1/2 teaspoon to 16 ounces or a pint is just right.
 You are NOT going to harm yourself if you use extra salt -  up
 to 3 teaspoons - some persons recommend this. -- ENTconsult

It takes time, maybe a year or two (depending on how bad it is) for
the sinuses to completely heal, so you just have to stick with it.
But you should see continual improvement from month to month.  If it's
working some yellowish infection should wash out when you irrigate,
but not necessarily every time.  Eventually there will be less and
less, and finally none when your sinuses are healed.

I think what I had was a low grade infection that moved deeper and
deeper into the sinus tissues over time.  In my experience doctors
have no cure for this, all they can do is mask the symptoms with
steroid sprays.  Antibiotics and steroids can eventually cause
problems like fungal infections, which are more difficult to cure.
You will always get some infections from colds and the flu, but your
immune system and regular irrigation should heal those.  If for some
reason I get a stubborn infection (maybe once a year) I add a little
peroxide once or twice and after that the infection will heal.

You could also try using a near 100% saline spray once or twice a day
on the days you don't irrigate.  You don't need much, just one spray
in each side from a metered spray container.  Breathe in deeply for
each spray and it should reach all of your sinuses.  It burns like
hell for a few seconds, but I had very good results with it.

I have tried just about every irrigation additive that is water
soluble over the last 10 years and I haven't found anything that works
better than salt.  I don't know if I have ever had a fungal infection
in my sinuses, but last couple years I've been using vinegar powder
capsules (the kind without any additives) as preventive measure.  The
powder can be added to irrigation solution, but it takes some vigorous
stirring.  (I nearly died from systemic fungal infections a few years
ago.  But after trying almost every recommended cure and not getting
better, I finally tried vinegar it worked.)

If you irrigate for a few weeks and don't see any infected mucus maybe
you just have allergies that cause irritation and sinus pressure from
the trapped air.  Infected teeth, gums and ears can also cause
pressure or pain that seems to come from the sinuses.  When my neck is
out of adjustment it will cause my sinuses to swell and pressure will
eventually build up, so there is seemingly no end to the possible
causes.  But in my experience they can all be overcome, except for
allergies.  Fortunately I don't have allergies all of the time and
when I do they are usually not too bad.

If you have an infection you should increase the amount of protein
in your diet.  With less protein you might feel better, because your
immune system is not working as hard to fight off the infection, but
in the long run things will get worse.  Also try to get enough sleep
and stay away from stress.  And moderate exercise is always helpful.

By the way, I have tried Vicks VapoRub.  I apply it directly on the
skin over the area of pressure as another poster suggested and
sometimes under my nose.  If I catch a cold I use either Vicks VapoRub
or benadryl decongestant.  I think you'll probably get diminishing
returns if you use VapoRub every night indefinitely.