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Saltwater 'cures kids colds'
News24 ^ | 21/01/2008 17:18 | News24

Posted on 01/21/2008 3:13:51 PM PST by ECM

Chicago - For parents worried about how to treat children's colds now that some medicines have been called into question, the answer may be a dose of salt water.

A nasal spray made from Atlantic Ocean seawater eased wintertime cold symptoms faster and slowed cough and cold symptoms from returning among children ages 6 to 10, researchers in Europe reported on Monday.

It may be that the salt water has a simple mechanical effect of clearing mucus, or it could be that trace elements in the water play some more significant role, though the exact reason why such a solution works is not known, said Dr Ivo Slapak and colleagues at the Teaching Hospital of Brno in the Czech Republic.

The study, published in the January issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology, was paid for by Goemar Laboratoires La Madeleine, Saint-Malo, France, which makes Physiomer, the seawater nasal spray used in the investigation.

(Excerpt) Read more at news24.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: cold; health; salt; sick
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1 posted on 01/21/2008 3:13:52 PM PST by ECM
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To: ECM
Convenient, ‘cause Chicago is right on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean...
2 posted on 01/21/2008 3:16:35 PM PST by Last Dakotan
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To: ECM

My Dad used to say the sure cure to most anything was to dunk your head in a bucket of water twice, and pull it out once. Having been raised during the Great Depression, he wouldn’t have bothered with the expense of salt.


3 posted on 01/21/2008 3:18:38 PM PST by USMCPOP (Father of LCpl. Karl Linn, KIA 1/26/2005 Al Haqlaniyah, Iraq)
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To: ECM

Well do you expect any other result when the product used in the study was made by the company who paid for the study?


4 posted on 01/21/2008 3:23:30 PM PST by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: ECM

Well, yes. I’ve been using saline nasal spray for my allergies, colds, and even to help treat sore throats for a while now. I wasn’t aware this was news to anyone.


5 posted on 01/21/2008 3:26:24 PM PST by arderkrag (Libertarian Nutcase (Political Compass Coordinates: 9.00, -2.62 - www.politicalcompass.org))
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To: ECM

Interesting. My mom always had us gargle with salt water whenever we came down with a sore throat. I guess we should have been spraying it up our nose instead. I wonder if it really helped our throats get better faster. Living in Florida, I’ve always noticed how spending just a little time in the ocean always cleared up cuts and blemishes.


6 posted on 01/21/2008 3:26:49 PM PST by Lorraine
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To: ECM

Neti Pot Treatment Uses Warm Saline Rinse

Sinus congestion sufferers will try anything to get relief, including pills, sprays and shots, but some North Texans swear by a natural remedy that is thousands of years old. The neti pot treatment is born from yoga, and uses a mix of sea salt and warm, non-chlorinated water. Practitioners simply let the solution run up one nostril and out the other.

http://www.tqmpropmgm.com/rhinohorn/instructions.htm

But you don’t need their “rhino horn” gizmo.

Any regular sports water bottle (like you’d buy at the 7-11), has a nice smoothed plastic cap which will fit in the average nostril, and can be used repeatedly if you rinse and dry after every use.

The only caveat is to use sea salt (like Morton’s from any grocery store) and not iodized salt.

When I have a cold or stuffiness of any kind this technique works better than any medicine. It’ll completely open the sinus passages for 3 to 4 hours if not longer, and there’s no reason you can’t do it several times a day if needed (once is usually enough for me).

You mileage may vary.


7 posted on 01/21/2008 3:27:24 PM PST by angkor (I'm a normal Joe Schmoe conservative without a party.)
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To: Lorraine

I had heard that salt water clears up blemishes but I dismissed it.


8 posted on 01/21/2008 3:30:05 PM PST by apocalypto
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To: ECM

“the exact reason why such a solution works is not known”
“The study... was paid for by Goemar Laboratoires La Madeleine, Saint-Malo, France, which makes Physiomer, the seawater nasal spray used in the investigation.”

oh sure of course this works


9 posted on 01/21/2008 3:30:15 PM PST by ari-freedom (The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government)
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To: ntnychik; devolve

Ping


10 posted on 01/21/2008 3:33:55 PM PST by potlatch ("Kindness is more important than wisdom, the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom" - Rubin)
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To: ECM

Did y’all hear about the common cold mutating into a superbug?

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=7372164


11 posted on 01/21/2008 3:36:55 PM PST by mtbopfuyn (I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)
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To: angkor

Interesting. Thanks for the heads (noses?) up.


12 posted on 01/21/2008 3:41:53 PM PST by ECM (Government is a make-work program for lawyers.)
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To: angkor

I have found that by using a neti pot daily, colds simply don’t get started. If I feel one coming on; I just do extra irrigations for a few hours, then it’s pretty much over. I LOVE my neti pot.


13 posted on 01/21/2008 4:02:36 PM PST by Red Boots
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To: Red Boots

People who want to try it out can use can use one of the sports drink bottles they sell at 7-11. The little white cap is smooth and fits perfectly in the nostril.

Also the 1 pint bottles are the right size for doing both nostrils (1 cup water each side).

Just add a can of Moron’s sea salt from any grocery store (at about $1.09) and you’re all set.

Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon sea salt to 1/2 bottle of hot tapwater. Shake until salt is dissolved. Add enough cool tapwater to make a full bottle of lukewarm salt water.

Put head over the sink (to the point you’re looking straight down), turn head to the right about 90 degrees, put the bottlecap end in the right nostril and adjust to make a loose seal, and VERY GENTLY squeeze while keeping mouth fully open. Water will course through the upper and then lower nasal passages, where it will then exit through the lower nostril into the sink (along with the excess mucus, which is the whole point). Singing or making noises will keep the water from entering the throat and mouth.

No need for any of the specialized gear or insanely overpriced “irrigation kits” I’ve seen at the local CVS.

It took me two or three runs to adjust this routine for myself.


14 posted on 01/21/2008 4:25:12 PM PST by angkor (I'm a normal Joe Schmoe conservative without a party.)
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To: ECM

It works, I encourage everyone to try it out.

Which reminds me I need to do this tonight.


15 posted on 01/21/2008 4:26:18 PM PST by angkor (I'm a normal Joe Schmoe conservative without a party.)
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To: ECM
Gargling with warm water and a pinch of table salt is a very effective treatment for sore throats caused by colds.
16 posted on 01/21/2008 4:47:35 PM PST by BenLurkin
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To: ECM
I'd be careful of anything that comes out of the Atlantic Ocean ... especially near Dorset, UK. You wouldn't want one of those toothpicks up your nose. ;-D


17 posted on 01/21/2008 4:51:52 PM PST by Daffynition (The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.)
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To: Lil'freeper

Ping


18 posted on 01/21/2008 4:52:44 PM PST by big'ol_freeper (REAGAN: "..party..must represent certain fundamental beliefs [not] compromised..[for] expediency")
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To: ECM
When I was a kid, an EENT doctor friend of the family would sometimes use this treatment on me when I had a cold. It did not completely cure the cold but it definitely helped.

These days I just take Source Natural's "Wellness Formula" when I feel a cold starting, and for whatever reason it usually seems to stop it from developing. Maybe something else is stopping the colds, I don't know, but since it seems to work...

19 posted on 01/21/2008 5:34:17 PM PST by TChad
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To: ECM
I don't believe in cures, I prefer preventatives.

Photobucket

20 posted on 01/21/2008 7:04:05 PM PST by USMCPOP (Father of LCpl. Karl Linn, KIA 1/26/2005 Al Haqlaniyah, Iraq)
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