An upper respiratory viral infection, the common cold affects people an average of two to three times a year. Toddlers and young children often experience one cold after another because they have not yet built up immunity to the various viruses that cause colds.
Everyone knows all too well the cold’s dreaded symptoms, which typically begin 2 to 3 days after infection. For the most part, these symptoms are the body’s way of countering the viral attack. Mucus is produced to trap the virus, and coughing and sneezing expel it from the body.
Simple measures to help reduce the chances of spreading a cold include frequent hand washing, covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing, and cleaning kitchen and bathroom surfaces more often in winter months.
According to a study cited in the January 2008 issue of Archives of Otolaryngology, * a saline nasal cleansing solution may be helpful for the more acute symptoms and reducing the recurrence of the common cold in children. The study included 401 children in the Czech Republic ages 6 to 10 with cold or flu. They were randomly assigned to two groups – one treated with standard medications such as decongestants and aspirin, the other treated with standard medications plus a commercially available nasal wash with a modified seawater solution.
The children were observed when they caught a cold and then assessed four times during the 12 weeks thereafter.
After 8 weeks, in the prevention part of the study, children in the saline nasal wash group had fewer colds and fewer absences from school than those in the control group.
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* “Efficacy of Isotonic Nasal Wash (Seawater) in the Treatment and Prevention of Rhinitis in Children.” Ivo Slapak, et al. Archives of Otolaryngology, January 2008: 134(1): 67-74.
(Study did not evaluate OCEAN® saline nasal spray products.)
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