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When people go shopping for treatments for their nasal problems they encounter quite a few options. So many options it's hard to say which is the best. Some of these treatments are aimed at getting a saline nasal spray up the nose.
Of all the treatments one might buy in the store surely the most simple is nasal saline spray. Or at least it should be simple! First you need a saline solution that is safe for the nose--- water and salt in most cases- and unfortunately if you're going to sell your product in the store you often need a preservative to keep it safe from bad germs. In fact most of the sprays that are for sale in the store will have preservatives in them. That definitely moves it away from being simple "saline nasal spray".
The average person might shrug their shoulders. "Big deal" they might say. I would like you to consider for a moment the concept that something that is strong enough to kill germs is being sprayed up your nose. You might think that's a good thing in that it'll kill the germs there too! Sorry to disappoint you but that's not a good way to get rid of the bad germs in your nose. Here's the straight scoop: preservatives irritate the cells in the lining of the nose. Surprised?
Not only do we see this intrusion of chemicals sprayed into the nose with some treatments offered in the stores, it is often delivered in a way that requires devices or strategies that need some additional equipment. These strategies are used because of the belief that it does not help to sniff a nasal saline solution from the hand into the nose. Somehow the belief that this strategy doesn't "work" is floating around out there in the land of the nasal treatment.
In my experience (30+years) simply sniffing a good nasal saline solution from the palm of the hand is by far the most effective way to irrigate the nose. It works better than any other strategy. It's simple to do once you have been instructed in how to do it. I call it the "Lo-tech, No-tech" approach to nasal irrigation. You can read about it on my blog.
So I would like to end with summarizing three main points. With the right instruction it is easy to make an effective nasal saline solution. It's easy to do this without adding preservatives into the mix. And all you need is a very "Lo tech" approach--sniff from your hand (but learn how to do it right!)
Learn more about saline nasal spray. Stop by Dr Stanley Lang's site where you can find out all about saline nasal solution and what it can do for you.
How Saline Nasal Spray can Prevent Sinusitis
How Nasal Saline Spray Can Prevent Chronic Sinusitis
by Stanley Lang
One of the most frequent problems I see each week is "the chronic sinus infection". A chronic infection is one that lasts for several weeks. While the end point looks about the same regardless of the cause, there are very different causes.
One of the biggest causes that I see are allergies. These seem to cause the problem by actually causing an allergic reaction in the nose which causes the lining to swell up. People generally understand that allergies are not a fun thing to have. Even to people that know a lot about it, allergy is complicated so the treatments can be complicated. One thing that can help is allergy shots. Unfortunately these can take months to work.
I have found that when we think that the cause of the problem is allergy, using a saline nasal spray is a very effective strategy. By using the saline nasal spray aggressively the stuff that the person is reacting to, the "allergens", can be literally washed away which of course decreases the chances of these things causing an allergic reaction. This will then of course decrease the symptoms that the person is having.
If it was up to me, I would choose irrigating my nasal passages with a saline nasal spray over getting shots any day. Not only is a lot more simple, it works faster!
It can be difficult to always be dealing with allergies and I know that many people are very miserable from the process. I have found that the saline nasal spray or solution can give rapid relief of symptoms----sometimes within minutes. It's definitely worth a try.
In summary, many people deal with chronic sinus infections. These infections do seem to have more than one possible cause. The cause frequently is related to allergies. Fortunately nasal allergies can be treated with saline nasal spray quite effectively and by doing so you can decrease chronic sinus infections.
Learn more about saline nasal spray. Stop by Dr Stanley Lang's site where you can find out all about saline nasal solution and what it can do for you.
Saline Nasal Spray vs. Saline Nasal Solution
Does Nasal Saline Solution Make a Difference
by Stanley Lang
The purpose of this article is to review some recent research on chronic sinusitis. In this research they looked at whether it made a difference in the treatment and control of symptoms in chronic sinusitis whether saline irrigation or saline spray was used.
The condition of chronic sinusitis is one where there is a low grade infection in the sinuses that just won't go away. Sometimes the symptoms are mild, so mild that the person thinks they just have allergies. Sometimes the symptoms are much more severe.
Just to explain a little, there is a reason that the researchers were looking at whether it made a difference to add nasal irrigation to the treatment of the chronic sinus infection. The reason is that the infection will not be able to get better if the secretions blocking the sinus are not removed. The idea being studied was whether saline irrigation helped to move these secretions.
The researchers wanted to know not only whether it made a difference to use a nasal saline solution in the nose but also whether it made a difference to use a solution that was irrigated into the nose rather than a solution that was just sprayed 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 to recap. It does make a difference if you use a nasal saline solution to irrigate your nose if you have a chronic sinus infection. It not only helps to use this kind of nasal solution, it actually helps to use the solution as an irrigation tool compared to just using the spray. So if you have this condition, you likely have a real benefit in using the nasal saline solution as an irrigation.N
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.
Sniff Your Way To Health
Sniff your way to health
Not too long ago I came across an argument that was trying to say that if you wanted the best effect of nasal saline solution you had to use a system that pushed the solution into the nose. This means that some type of pressure needs to be generated in the system. People with this point of view believe it works much better than sniffing the solution.
I think that this opinion is completely wrong. While you can get some good results from irrigation under pressure of the nasal passages, there is a downside. Very often there is a mucus plug in the sinus opening which is blocking the sinus. This can happen in either the case of allergy or in the case of a sinus infection.
Any time you put something into the nose with pressure that means it's going to be "pressing" against "stuff". That "stuff" in this case is mucous that might be plugging a sinus. Three things might happen: you might wash the plug away, you might jam it more securely in the opening or you might do nothing. One thing is for sure, when you put increased pressure into the nasal passages and things are inflamed, it will be more uncomfortable compared to the gentle cleansing of an inhaled nasal saline solution.
So think about it. Your nose feels uncomfortable. Your sinuses feel "congested". Then you spray something up your nose under pressure. That's a good feeling! Our alternative is to use the hand to hold the solution and to gently sniff it into your nose. Which do you think feels better?
Imagine the difference between a spray with some turbulence and a solid stream coming at something that you're trying to clean. The approach that sniffs the nasal solution from the hand creates this cleansing turbulence-- but not under a lot of pressure.
So here are the options: you can use a system that pushes the nasal saline solution into the nose under pressure or you can sniff the solution and gently irrigate the nasal passages. Seems like a no brainer to me! I vote for gentle irrigation. There is a precise technique that makes it all work better which I explain in detail in my blog. But if you do it right, it works!
Looking to find the best product involving a saline nasal spray, then visit http://saline-nasal-spray.com to find the best advice on saline nasal solution for you.
How Saline Nasal Spray Helps You With Dusty Air
One of the facts of life living in most places in the world is that the air is not very clean. In fact a lot of times it is plain dusty. You might say there is "stuff" in it. So you also might say that this air is not very healthy. As you might expect, this unclean air irritates the tissues in the nose and one of the things that happens is that the nose swells up. There is kind of a cascade of events that happens when the nose starts reacting to "dirty air". These things include swelling of the nose, a feeling like the nose is "stuffy" and often reaches the point where it's just easier to breath through the mouth. If you remember ever having to breath through your mouth for an extended period of time you know that that was no fun. Once you create a dilemma it is natural to look for a solution. So the "solution" here is to use a nasal saline "solution". There are some legitimate differences of opinoin with this treatment such as "just how strong should this salt water be?" Now I happen to believe it should be stronger than the usual saline sprays that are sold in stores.
I don't want to give the impression that it is urgent that these dust and other junky air particles need to be removed from the nose. In fact the nose is able to clear this stuff out if left to itself long enough. The problem though is that many of us are exposed to the junky air a lot and the body's ability to clean the nose out is overwhelmed. So what strategy do you have to keep your nose cleaned out? If you don't have one your nose is going to have some side effects from the stuff you're inhaling. I suggest that the best thing to do is to make a home made nasal solution to irrigate out the junk in the nose. The added benefit is that there are no preservatives in the home made solution. So why is this important? What difference does it make to use preservatives or not in a nasal saline solution or spray? The biggest reason is that the preservatives are not inert. They actually cause damage and more swelling to the nasal lining! So have a strategy to clean your nasal passages. I suggest making the solution at home to avoid the preservatives. Now that's a solution! Order Nasal Saline Solution!
The No Tech Lo Tech Nasal Spray
If you go to the store to buy a salt water spray, you will find a dizzying number of different strategies to try to get the saline into the nose. If the nose is really congested then it can be challenging to get the saline into the nose in the first place. We have developed a very "low tech" tactic to getting the saline nasal solution into the nose: use the hand. You may read in some places that sniffing from the hand is not effective. I can assure you that these people don't know what they are talking about. A big part of the uncertainty is that they often tell you to try to sniff up one nostril at a time. This does two things that are not helpful. First of all you have a harder time getting a effecitve mixture of nasal saline and air when you try to sniff up one side at a time. Second of all you miss getting the generous flow of the nasal saline into the nasopharynx because it didn't go up both sides at the same time. The key is sniffing up both nostrils at the same time. The second important fact to understand is that the nose is always lower than the mouth when you're doing the sniffing. This makes sure that the nasal solution goes up both sides of the nose and into the nasopharynx which is the area of the throat behind the nose. This is a very important goal but unfortunately missed by most of the advice from sites that are trying to tell you how to use the nasal saline solution. For many years our patients have been very succssfully using this practice. It is low tech and it is very effective, particularly when used with the saline nasal soltuion called "Rhinosnort". So if you follow these instructions you will be successful. Nasal Saline Solution!
