Recent research has looked at the question of whether it makes any difference in the treatment of chronic sinusitis when nasal saline solution irrigation is done as opposed to just using the solution as a spray. This article is a review of that research.
In this research the condition of interest was chronic sinusitis. This means that there is a low grade infection going on in the sinuses. In some cases this infection has actually been going on for more than a year which is a long time to put up with symptoms.
The reason that saline irrigation is even being studied is that the sinus infection really can’t get better if the sinus openings can’t be cleared of the stuff that is blocking them. This “stuff” might be secretions and often are very thick and hard for the body to move. The presumption is that these secretions can more easily be moved if the area is irrigated virorously.
The researchers were interested in understanding not only does it help to use a nasal saline solution to irrigate out the nose and therefore to possibly remove some of the blockage of the sinus, but they also wanted to know whether the volume of solution made a difference. In fact, did it make a difference whether the nasal saline solution was irrigated liberally or just sprayed up into the nose?
The researchers found two different but related things. Not surprisingly they found that the nasal saline solution was helpful in treating the symptoms of a chronic sinus infection. Based on what we know about what is happening with a sinus infection this is not unexpected. What they also found, however, was that it did make a difference whether you used the nasal saline solution as an irrigation rather than as a spray—even if it is the exact same ingredient.
So in summary when it comes to a chronic sinus infection there is a definite benefit to using a good nasal saline solution. And it makes a difference to use the solution as an irrigation tool rather than just spraying it up into the nose. So, based on this research if you have chronic symptoms you will definitely benefit from frequent nasal irrigation.
Want to find out more about saline nasal spray, then visit Dr Stanley Lang’s site on how to choose the best saline nasal solution for your needs.
