Salt water for a cold: study shows quick help for children!

Salt water for a cold: study shows quick help for children!

Wien, Österreich - parents of young children know the tiresome game: coughing and runny nose never seem to end. A groundbreaking study by the University of Edinburgh now shows that simple nasal drops with saline solution not only shorten the duration of a cold in children by two days, but can also significantly reduce the transfer of the virus to other children. As Today.at , this interesting discovery was presented at the congress of the European Respiratory Society in Vienna. In the study, 407 children up to six years were examined, 301 of whom were cold. While one group received the nasal drops, the other group received classic medication such as paracetamol and ibuprofen.

The results are remarkable: children who used salt water nasal drops suffered from average only six days from the symptoms, while the other eight days were sick. In addition, only 46 percent of family members of the salt water group fell ill in the medication group compared to 61 percent. Professor Steve Cunningham, one of the study authors, explains the mode of action: The chloride contained in salt water supports the cells of the nasal mucosa to produce hypochloric acid that is used to defend virus infections. This inhibited the virus replication and reduces the duration of the cold, such as pharmaceutical-zeitung.de

These new types of nasal drops are currently not available in stores, but are to be made accessible to parents by simple instructions and a video. Auch die Forschungsergebnisse zeigen, dass bei den durchgeführten Nasenabstrichen der Kinder 17 verschiedene respiratorische Viren nachgewiesen werden konnten, wobei die Rhinoviren am häufigsten vorkamen. For many families, these findings could be a significant relief in the fight against colds.