Can nose washing prevent COVID-19 and relieve symptoms? The answer is yes. The benefits of nasal cleansing can be summarized as drainage, detoxification, promoting cleanliness and reducing swelling, Wei Wei, deputy director of the otolaryngology and Head and neck surgery department at Xinhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) on Dec 21.
According to a review analysis published in the September 2021 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, nasal saline irrigation is effective in preventing and reducing viral infections. In particular, considering the characteristics of short clinical incubation period, severe upper respiratory symptoms and strong infectivity of patients infected with Omicron-strain novel coronavirus, nasal saline irrigation can effectively improve nasal symptoms, shorten the time for the virus to turn negative, and accelerate the recovery process. In healthy people, daily nasal saline irrigation can be used as a preventive health care strategy. Health care workers and anti-epidemic personnel can perform nasal irrigation after quarantine work to reduce virus adherence in the nasal cavity.
Wei Wei explained that there are many invisible cilia on the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity and sinuses, which continuously swing in a directional direction, just like hundreds of small brooms, cleaning the portal of the respiratory tract. Nasal washing can promote the movement of nasal mucosa cilia and enhance the clearing function. When infection occurs, the nasal mucosa is swollen. If the nasal mucosa is irrigated with hypertonic saline for a short time, dehydration can be appropriate to reduce the swelling. Through the above effects, it can improve the symptoms of nasal discharge, nasal congestion and nasal congestion during the novel coronavirus infection, and it is an important method of daily care and health care for patients with rhinitis, sinusitis or allergic rhinitis.
As part of the physical therapy, saline irrigation in the nose of COVID-19 patients can reduce the release of "virus droplets" into the air, reduce the transmission of respiratory viruses through aerosols, and speed up the negative transition or even cure of COVID-19 patients, Wei said. Especially during the period of infection, in addition to fever, body aches and other general symptoms, nasal congestion, runny nose or smell disorders are common symptoms. If nasal symptoms are severe, consider a saline nasal wash or a short-term topical vasoconstrictor to relieve symptoms.
"However, it should be made clear that without anatomical abnormalities of the nasal sinuses or underlying diseases, such as allergic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis, the course of COVID-19 infection is mostly self-limited and there is no specific intervention, so there is no need for excessive intervention." "Wei Wei said.
Appendix: Nasal irrigation method
Formula: Household available 3g non-iodized salt dissolved in 100ml warm boiling water, roughly matched with 3% hypertonic brine; Dissolve 0.9g of non-iodized salt in 100ml boiling water to roughly mix 0.9% normal saline.
Temperature: to control at about 35 degrees Celsius, do not overheat too cold.
Operation:
1. Cover one nostril with the nose plug at the end of the nose washer, lean forward slightly and lower your head. Breathe through your mouth. Gently pinch and loosen with your hand, rhythmically squeeze the center of the bottle repeatedly, and the lotion will be squeezed into the nasal cavity, and the dirt in the nasal cavity will flow out from the other nostril or mouth with the lotion.
2. When half of the lotion in the bottle is left, the other side of the nasal cavity can be washed; Before changing, gently blow your nose on one side to get rid of the residue, then do the same on the other side.
Note:
1. Breathe through the mouth when rinsing, do not inhale through the nose, to avoid choking water.
2. After nose washing, the sewage should be poured away and cannot be reused.
3. If one side is flooded and the other side is difficult to get out of, try to get in from the hard-to-get side.
4. Don't push too hard to avoid causing sinusitis or otitis media.
Nasal spray method:
There are many kinds of nasal spray on the market, please refer to the instructions to use, the following is for reference only.
1. Open the dust cover, tilt the head slightly back, place the nozzle in front of the nostril, gently press the manual pump, and spray the physiological seawater/salt water into the nasal cavity in a fog.
2. Spray 4-8 each time in each nostril and wipe nasal secretions and excess physiological sea salt water with tissue.
3. Clean the nozzle and put on the dust cover.
4. Two to six times a day.
