nasal cleanse to prevent flus etc.

[theist 1]

12/22/2004

Cold and Flu Season: How to Cope

 

(ARA) - The first months of the year are the worst for cold and flu, and a new survey shows Americans may be turning to non-traditional treatments to ease their symptoms.

 

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The Searching for Sinus Relief survey found that while 91 percent of Americans suffer from sinus problems, nearly all of them -0- 82 percent -- are confused or dissatisfied with the choices for over-the-counter drugs. Instead, more and more people are willing to try non-drug treatments like nasal washing to relieve stuffy noses, post-nasal drip and painful sinus headaches this winter.

 

The numerous choices for over-the-counter drugs can be daunting; 69 percent of sinus sufferers are confused by the choices for over-the-counter drugs, according to the Impulse Research survey. Of them, 59 percent say there are too many options, while 65 percent say they just don't know what works.

 

As a result, more and more people are looking for alternative remedies to keep sinus symptoms at bay. Eighty-one percent of the Searching for Sinus Relief survey respondents who have not tried alternative remedies said they would be willing to try one in order to relieve nasal congestion. Of those who have tried an alternative remedy, 77 percent said that it helped their symptoms.

 

"Some drugs are counterintuitive. It doesn't make sense to dry up a stuffy nose -- that just traps the germs in thick mucus," explains Dr. Diane G. Heatley, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Madison, Wis. "On the other hand, non-drug remedies like nasal washing thin out the mucus. This opens the nasal passages and makes it easier to breathe, providing long-term success in managing sinus problems."

 

Dr. Heatley learned of a treatment called a neti-pot used in the practice of yoga for centuries. She went on to develop the SinuCleanse nasal wash system to provide all-natural, fast acting relief for her patients.

 

According to Heatley, nasal washing is safe for everyone, including children and pregnant women, because it is drug free. And, because it is all-natural, there is no risk of drug interactions. The process treats the root problem of nasal problems, using a saline rinse to remove thickened, bacteria-laden mucus from the sinus cavities, soothing nasal passages rather than just masking the symptoms.

 

The acceptance of nasal washing rose dramatically in the Midwest after publication of a University of Wisconsin-Madison study. The study found that participants who added the SinuCleanse nasal wash system to their daily regimen showed decreased nasal symptoms, decreased medication use and overall improved health over the six-month period of the study.

 

And the trend is catching on. Proving the growing mainstream acceptance for alternative cold and flu remedies, Walgreens recently pickup up SinuCleanse in all of its nationwide stores.

 

"I recommend nasal washing as a way to naturally relieve and mange nasal problems," Heatley says. "The remedy can be used by everyone and is effective even when other methods aren't, so it makes sense to use it first, before seeking drugs."

 

For more information about nasal washing and to read additional research, visit http://www.SinuCleanse.com.

 

[theist 1]

Saltwater nasal spray kills flu virus, suppresses tuberculosis

 

 

News summary:

Source: http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?id=2004112914290002118714&dt=20041129142900&w=RTR&coview=

 

Simply inhaling a saltwater spray could help prevent the spread of diseases including flu and tuberculosis, U.S. and German researchers reported on Monday.

They found a saline spray, administered using a device called a jet nebulizer, reduced the number of germ-spreading droplets by as much as 70 percent for six hours.

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could provide a way to help control epidemics such as the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome that spread globally and killed many health care workers trying to help patients.

Gerhard Scheuch of Harvard University and colleagues there and at biotechnology firms Pulmatrix and Inamed (INMD) tested 11 volunteers, giving them the oral spray and then measuring how many particles they released when coughing.

"Viruses known to spread from humans and/or animals through breathing, sneezing, and coughing include measles, influenza virus, adenovirus, African swine fever virus, foot and mouth disease virus, Varicella zoster virus (chickenpox), infectious bronchitis virus and smallpox, among others," they wrote.

Scheuch's team noted some people produced many more little droplets or bioaerosols than others -- something also seen by investigators of the SARS outbreak that spread from China to cities around the world, killing 800 people.

Such "super-spreaders" were responsible for several clusters of the often deadly viral infection.

"We found a sharp demarcation between individuals who are 'high' and 'low' producers of bioaerosols, small droplets of fluid exhaled from the lungs that may carry airborne pathogens," said David Edwards, a professor of biomedical engineering at Harvard, who worked on the study.

"Roughly half our subjects exhaled tens of bioaerosol particles per liter, while the other half exhaled thousands of these particles.