A nasal drip can reduce the time we have a cold

Could a simple nasal drop be the answer to the common cold?

It may not be the complete answer, but it can reduce the duration of the cold by around two days, say researchers from the University of Edinburgh.

Children who are given a simple salt-water nasal drop have cold symptoms for around six days—compared to the eight that people usually endure—and they are also less infectious and won’t pass the virus to other family members.

The researchers were inspired to try the drops from people in South Asia, who routinely use salt-water solutions for nasal irrigation and gargling to treat colds.

They tried the drops on a group of 150 children, aged up to six years, who developed a cold during the trial period, and they were compared with another 151 who had standard cold care.

The drops reduced the time of the cold by around two days, and the children also needed less medication.  Only 46 percent of the family also caught the cold if the child had been given the drops compared to 81 percent in the non-treatment group.

Salt is made up of sodium and chloride, and chloride is sued by the cells that line the nose and windpipe to produce hypochlorous acid, which fights viral infections.

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