The content on or accessible through Medpedia.com is for informational purposes only. Medpedia is not a substitute for professional advice or expert medical services from a qualified health professional.
Read more
Medpedia Answers
(Allergies)Medpedia Answers is a platform for asking and answering questions about health and medicine. Read more.
Are nasal saline rinses (sinus rinses) harmful?
Do doctors typically recommend them? If so, when should they be used? Regularly or only when sick?
38 yr old, Male
asked Mar 25, 2010 at 05:11PM in Allergies
-
0Votes
answered Mar 26, 2010 at 04:31AMLets first clarify, a nasal saline rinse is for the nasal cavity (nose). It does not rinse the sinus cavities (there are four pairs in an adult: frontal, maxoid, ethmoid, and sphenoid.)
The 4 sinuses include:
Frontal sinuses, which are located over the eyes in the brow area. Frontal sinuses can cause forehead pain when inflamed.
Maxillary sinuses, located inside each cheekbone. Maxillary sinuses are linked to pain in your upper jaw, teeth, and cheeks
Ethmoid sinuses, located just behind the bridge of the nose and between the eyes. If your ethmoids are inflamed, you may feel it in your eyelids, the tissues around your eyes, and between your eyes
Sphenoid sinuses, located behind the ethmoids in the upper region of the nose. Sphenoid sinuses that are infected can trigger earaches, neck pain, and deep achiness at the top of your head.
A saline wrinse can introduce moisture into the nasal cavity and some of the moisture may (an I mean may) find its way to the sinus ducts (tubes that drconnect and drain the sinuses). Water (saline in the case) can liquify mucous and allow it to flow easier. You are NOT flushing out you sinuses, even though you may feel a little relief.
What can happen is, if the saline has bavcteria in it, it is now introduced to a nice warm, dark, moist area where it can grow.....low-and-behold.......a nice sinus infection.
So, I didn't reguarly reccommend nasal rinses. -
1VotesGerry's answer piqued my curiosity, as my husband has found the nasal irrigation helpful for mild bouts of sinus/allergic rhinitis but I've long been skeptical of making nasal rinses a frequent habit.
I found this series of studies by a physician at the University of Wisconsin's School of Medicine and Public Health:
http://www.fammed.wisc.edu/research/past-projects/nasal-irrigation
The school also posts this press release on the topic:
http://www.uwhealth.org/news/nasal-irrigation-helps-control-sinus-problems/20447
What puzzles me is recommending this as a regular strategy. It would seem disruptive to the nasal/sinus environment, and it doesn't seem to address any underlying issue -- chronic allergies (perhaps to food, which should be eliminated), poor air quality (too dry perhaps), etc.
Sign-in
to post an answer to this question.
Related Questions
in
Allergies
- What are the best foods to eat and supplements to take when coming down with a cold/cough?
- Mucus/Sinus Question?
- Can rinsing out your sinuses to much or to often be harmful?
- Can isopathy and tautopathy help effect permanent cures?
- How effective is histaminum muriaticum in treating severe allergic bronchitis and eczema in a 7 yr old
- What could cause extreme itching after bath with cold and hot water?
- What is Histamin?
- Can an allergy to ACE Inhibitors develop over time?
- Will soking in salt water help with Poison Ivy?
- Can a sensitivity to something cause a siezure?
- »» See All
The content on or accessible through Medpedia.com is for informational purposes only. Medpedia is not a substitute for professional advice or expert medical services from a qualified health professional.
Read more
Gerry
Gerry
Moreover, my biologist husband declined to use sea salt for his irrigation venture, not wanting to let loose marine organisms in his nasal cavities. :-)