Podcast: Nasal saline for allergic rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis, or hayfever, is a common condition affecting both adults and children. One suggestion for treating it is to rinse the inside of the nose with salt water and the Cochrane Review of the effects of this was published in June 2018. We asked Carl Philpott from the Norwich Medical School in the UK to tell us what he and his co-authors found." Allergic rhinitis is swelling or irritation of the inside of the nose caused by allergies to airborne particles, such as grass pollen or dustmite. It ’s accompanied by symptoms including a blocked, runny or itchy nose, and sneezing.Various treatments have been proposed, and some of them have been assessed in Cochrane Reviews. We looked at the use of nasal saline irrigation, which is also known as nasal douche, wash or lavage, and involves rinsing the nasal cavity with saline, or salt water. The idea is that this would work by thinning the mucus in the nose, making it easier to remove, as well as removing some of the allergy particles. People can do the rinsing for themselves, using the saline on its own, or with nasal sprays or other treatments.We looked for any studies that had tested the effects of nasal saline irrigation alone or in combination with other things, and found 14 studies involving nearly 750 patients, about two thirds of whom were children. Five studies used what is called ’very low’ volume saline, such as nasal sprays providing under 5ml, which is less than a teaspoon full, per nostril. Two studies use...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news