Common cold symptoms may not end after nose spray

Washington, March 18 (ANI): Common cold symptoms are not reduced even if the nose is washed with a spray or salt water, says a new research review.

The three studies in the review included small numbers of patients and varied widely in their details, "which means small beneficial effects may be missed," said lead author David King, of the University of Queensland, in Australia.

One study discovered that people were more likely to return to work sooner after using the nose washes, and there was some evidence that nasal washes might reduce antibiotic prescriptions among those who seek the saltwater treatment.

King said: "Nasal irrigation with saline is a safe treatment that may be mildly beneficial to some patients, though the existing evidence is too limited to recommend it as a standard treatment.

"It is quite amazing that such a common treatment for a very common illness does not have a large body of evidence to support for or against its use."

Saltwater washes have long been a part of ayurvedic care on the Indian subcontinent. And now the use of saline sprays and nose "irrigators" like the neti pot - a small spouted pot used to pour water through the nostrils - has been increasing in the West.

According to some studies, saline nasal washes could flush out excessive mucus and infectious material, and might strengthen the nose's own filtration system of waving, hair-like cilia.

If saline washes work, said the Cochrane reviewers, they could reduce the amount of decongestants, painkillers and improperly prescribed antibiotics used to treat upper respiratory tract infections, while reducing downtime from these illnesses.

They said: "The economic impact of the common cold alone on workplace absenteeism is estimated to be billions of dollars."

Other studies have shown that people with chronic sinus symptoms, and perhaps some allergy sufferers, might be able to prevent flare-ups with regular saline washes, according to David Rabago, an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin, who had provided feedback on the review draft to the authors.

He said: "No head-to-head comparisons have been made of volume, salinity, temperature, pH or delivery vehicle - do you use a squeeze bottle or a neti pot, for example?"

He pointed out that most washes, which use lukewarm water and a 0.9 percent to 3 percent saline solution, "are able to do something good."

The review has been published in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration. (ANI)