Using hypertonic saline nasal drops can reduce the length of the common cold in children by two days, according to a study. They can also reduce the onward transmission of colds to family members. The research team recruited 407 children aged up to six years for a study where they were given either hypertonic saline ~2.6% (salt-water) nasal drops or usual care when they developed a cold. Overall, 301 children developed a cold; for 150 of these, their parents were given sea salt and taught to make and apply salt-water nose drops to the children's noses (three drops per nostril,...