RNS: Nasal irrigation, April 2008
TIME: 2:09
URL: www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2008/hmnasal.htm
U-M Health Minute: Today’s top health issues and medical research
Spring cleaning … for your nose
Nasal irrigation can relieve sinus symptoms safely, cheaply
Suggested lead: Relief for a runny or stuffy nose, watery eyes or difficulty breathing is just a rinse away, say experts with the University of Michigan Health System. Here’s Andi McDonnell with more.
Think of it as spring cleaning for your nose.
Not a pleasant thought, but it’s an important issue for the millions of people who suffer with spring allergies, nasal congestion, stuffy noses and post-nasal drip.
One of the best methods for relieving the symptoms is nasal irrigation.
Dr. Melissa Pynnonen (M.D.), co-director of the Michigan Sinus Center and assistant professor in the U-M Department of Otolaryngology, explains…
“Nasal irrigation can be considered a first line treatment for common nasal and sinus symptoms. It’s often more effective than medications, or can be used in addition to traditional medications to improve nasal and sinus symptom control.”
Nasal irrigation refers to rinsing the nose and nasal passages with a solution, typically salt water.
Pynnonen tells us…
.
“Nasal irrigation is comfortable if the water is at body temperature, so it should be lukewarm water. The purpose of the salt is to make it comfortable. If you don’t put any salt in the water it will burn. So I tell patients if they want to mix up their own saltwater at home, use about a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt and eight ounces of warm tap water and add a quarter teaspoon of baking soda.”
Other methods include a device called a neti-pot, which resembles a miniature teapot. With this device, water is poured, instead of squeezed, into your nose. Some people use turkey basters or syringes like those used to suction a baby’s nose.
Pynnonen recently led a study in which her team found that saline irrigation is very effective at controlling sinus symptoms, more so than saline sprays. She explains…
“We found that patients who used saline irrigation twice daily had a significant improvement in their symptoms. They improved much more than patients who used saline spray and the amount of improvement was really quite surprising. Patients who used nasal irrigation experienced as much improvement as some patients with chronic sinusitis get with sinus surgery.”
And nasal irrigation can be used in children – but with a smaller amount of the solution.
Andi McDonnell, U-M Health System News. |
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