Simple Nasal Wash Reduces Risk of COVID Hospitalization
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Rinsing your nasal passages with a saline solution within 24 hours of a COVID-19 diagnosis could reduce your chances of being hospitalized by 8.5-fold
- Among people with COVID-19 who used nasal irrigation twice daily, 80% had zero or one mild symptom, compared to 42% of those who irrigated less often
- Only 13% of those who used nasal irrigation still had symptoms at day 28, compared to nearly 50% of those in another study
- Other research also supports the use of nasal irrigation as a “useful add-on to first-line interventions for COVID-19”
- Nebulized hydrogen peroxide diluted with saline, with or without iodine, can also be safely used by most people for prevention of respiratory infections — and in cases of active infection
Rinsing your nasal passages with a saline solution within 24 hours of a COVID-19 diagnosis could reduce your chances of being hospitalized by 8.5-fold.1 Why hasn’t your doctor told you about this? And why haven’t public health agencies shared the good news with the public that they can significantly reduce their risk of severe COVID-19 with a simple nasal wash?
The practically free solution is just too inexpensive. Unlike Pfizer’s Paxlovid, which was granted emergency use authorization to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in December 20212 — and is slated to make the company $22 billion in profits in 20223 — there’s little money to be made by promoting the ancient practice of nasal lavage.
Further, if its benefits are confirmed, widespread usage could have drastically altered the course of the pandemic, rendering the entire pandemic response completely unnecessary.4
Simple Way to Reduce Your Risk of COVID Hospitalization
Nasal irrigation, sometimes referred to as nasal lavage, is a relatively popular method for relieving cold symptoms, often via the use of a neti pot. The practice is an ancient technique with roots in the traditional Indian health care system, however.
Irrigating the nasal passages with saline is used in traditional yoga practice, where it’s known as jala-neti.5 It involves the use of a saline solution in teapot-like device, used to flush out the nose and sinus cavities. After inserting the end of the pot in one side of your nose, the solution moves through your sinuses and out the other nostril. A bulb syringe or squeeze bottle can also be used.
In the U.S., nasal irrigation continues to be an adjunctive therapy for upper respiratory conditions and is currently prescribed after…