Winter is getting cranked up and we need to
take measures to maintain our health because during the winter months and at
other times when the air is very dry, it is important to keep our nasal
passages moist. When I was young I used to think my mother’s practice of medicine
was just one more of her old wives tales, but practically applied her easy
way to moisten your nasal passages is to sniff salt solution into
both sides of the nose 2-4 times a day seems to work. To prepare a solution of
proper strength, add 1/4 teaspoon of table salt to a cup of warm water, and
stir it until all the salt has dissolved. Sniff some from a spoon or other
small container into each nostril. Alternatively, you can buy ready-prepared
nasal saline products, such as Ocean, Simply Saline or generic equivalents from
drug stores. Such solutions can be used to wash away mucus from the membranous
lining of the nasal passages. They also help by shrinking any parts of it that
are swollen. This may save you a trip to the
doctor. If this is not done, mucus and
the swollen membranes around these openings may block openings of the sinuses
into the nasal passages. Sinusitis will then occur if nasal bacteria infect the
mucus, which can no longer drain from the blocked sinus. Treatment of sinusitis
(rather than its prevention) often requires the use of antibiotics.
Some doctors are not enthusiastic about nasal
saline irrigation since researchers found that it does not significantly reduce
the incidence of colds. Personally, I am a little skeptical
about a doctor’s hesitation to try a home remedy rather than popping a few
pills. I don’t mean to confuse colds with sinusitis. Viruses cause colds, while
sinusitis is a bacterial-induced complication for some colds. Irrigation of the
nasal passages with saline cannot kill viruses or bacteria, but according to my
favorite ENT patient, it can help to reduce the incidence of sinusitis in
people with a tendency to develop this common complication of colds.
Part of the source for this article came from
my mom and part from the American Family Physician (70:1685 & 1697,
"04) & Wall Street Journal (Dec.7"04, page D6).
Novy Scheinfeld DDS PC
290 Carpenter Drive, 200A
290 Carpenter Drive, 200A
Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328
404-256-3620
info@rightsmilecenter.com
www.rightsmilecenter.com
info@rightsmilecenter.com
www.rightsmilecenter.com
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