A simple nasal rinse reduces the risk of hospitalization

Rinsing your nasal passages with saline within 24 hours of a COVID-19 diagnosis could reduce your chances of hospitalization by 8.5 times.¹ Why didn’t the doctor tell 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 disease from COVID-19 by simply rinsing their noses?

A practically free solution is simply too cheap. Unlike Pfizer’s Paxlovide, which received emergency use approval for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 disease in December 2021.² — and is slated to earn the company $22 billion in 2022³ — a little money can be made by promoting the ancient practice of nose washing.

Furthermore, if its benefits are confirmed, widespread use could drastically change the course of the pandemic, making the entire pandemic response completely unnecessary.⁴

A simple way to reduce the risk of hospital admission

Nasal irrigation, sometimes called nasal irrigation, is a relatively popular method for relieving cold symptoms, often using a neti pot. However, the practice is an ancient technique with roots in the traditional Indian health system.

Rinsing the nasal passages with a saline solution is used in traditional yoga practice, where it is known as jala-neti.⁵ It involves the use of saline solution in a kettle-like device, which is used to flush the nose and sinus cavities. After you insert the end of the container into one side of your nose, the solution moves through your sinuses and out the other nostril. A syringe with a ball or a squeeze bottle can also be used.

In the US, nasal irrigation remains an adjunctive therapy for upper respiratory tract disease and is currently prescribed after nose and sinus surgery.⁶ The featured study, which was published in the journal Ear, Nose & Throat in August 2022, included 79 participants aged 55 and older who had been diagnosed with COVID-19.⁷

They were randomized to use either half a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (alkalization) with isotonic saline (0.9% saline) as a rinse twice daily for 14 days or to include 2.5 milliliters (about half a teaspoon) of povidone-iodine (PVP-I) 10% solution (antimicrobial) in the same period. The researchers then followed each group for 14 days after their last intervention.

Those who used nasal irrigation were more than 8.5 times less likely to be hospitalized compared to the national rate, the study found. A dose-response relationship was also found. Among those who irrigated twice a day, 80% had no or mild symptoms, compared with 42% of those who irrigated less frequently.

Furthermore, only 13% of those who used the nasal wash still had symptoms on day 28, compared to nearly 50% of those in another study, who had symptoms for 21 days or more.⁸ According to the researchers:⁹

“Our results confirm that pressurized nasal irrigation reduces the likelihood of hospitalization in high-risk COVID-19 + outpatients, suggesting a safe, over-the-counter measure with a potentially vital public health impact.

A reduction from 11 to 1.3% from November 2021 would correspond in absolute terms to more than 1,000,000 fewer older Americans needing admission. If confirmed in other studies, the potential reduction in morbidity and mortality worldwide could be profound.”

Senior study author Dr. Richard Schwartz noted, “We found an 8.5-fold reduction in hospitalizations and no deaths compared to our controls. Both are pretty significant endpoints.”¹⁰ In addition to the highlighted study, other research also supports the use of nasal irrigation as a “useful adjunct to first-line interventions for COVID-19.”¹¹

Nasal wash findings render response to COVID useless

dr. Amy Baxter, the study’s lead author and an emergency medicine physician at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, said she got the inspiration for the study from a visit to Southeast Asia, where nasal irrigation is used daily as part of personal hygiene. She explained:¹²

“What we say in the ER and in surgery is that the solution to contamination is dilution… If you have a contaminant, the more you flush it out, the better you’ll be able to get rid of dirt, viruses and whatever else… One of our thoughts were: If we can flush out some of the virus within 24 hours after they test positive, then maybe we can reduce the severity of that whole trajectory.”

This indeed proved to be the case, a discovery that should not come as a complete surprise. In 2019, researchers at Khon Kaen University in Thailand similarly found that nasal irrigation is an effective treatment for nasal ailments, helping to clear nasal secretions, improve nasal congestion, and improve sinus pain, headaches, taste and smell, and even quality of life. sleep.¹³

Steve Kirsch, executive director of the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, went a step further, explaining that the impressive effectiveness of nasal irrigation in reducing hospitalizations for COVID-19 makes the response to the pandemic “unnecessary and harmful”:¹⁴

“All mitigations of the pandemic were unnecessary. Simply telling newly infected people to rinse their noses with saline if they get sick would reduce hospitalization rates to flu-like levels. The CDC is still not telling people to do this today, even though there is no risk to anyone…

This would also apply to any other virus or bacteria, based on the mechanism of action. It’s also extremely safe… This treatment is still being ignored by all mainstream medical institutions… Universities should be instructing students to rinse their noses after getting COVID instead of getting vaccines.”

Mouth and nose sprays against COVID-19

Nasal irrigation is just one tool that helps protect against COVID-19. A simple mouth and nose spray containing povidone-iodine (PVP-I), a microbicidal agent with a virucidal efficiency of 99.99%,¹⁵ it can also act as an effective shield to protect against COVID-19.

A study in the Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery recommended PVP-I oro-nasal spray for healthcare workers and anyone else to help prevent COVID-19,¹⁶ echoing numerous other studies that also found benefits from gargling, nasal irrigation, and spraying with PVP-I and other compounds, including Lugol’s iodine, saline, and hydrogen peroxide.¹⁷

In this case, the spray formulation was particularly effective because it allowed the active ingredient to diffuse further and reach deeper into the nose and nasopharynx, which is the upper part of the throat behind the nose. Oro-nasal spray acts as a protective layer, coating the nasal and oral mucosa.

Typically, if you are exposed to SARS-CoV-2, it will enter your body through your nose and mouth, staying there for a while before binding to ACE2 receptors and entering cells. Once inside your cells, the virus has a chance to multiply.

By creating a protective shield, the oro-nasal spray helps prevent SARS-CoV-2 from binding to ACE2 receptors and entering your cells. In a yet-to-be-published clinical trial,¹⁸ researchers obtained positive results using 0.6% PVP-I oro-nasal spray in 189 patients with COVID-19. The 0.6% solution had an efficacy rate of about 81.5%, which was higher than the efficacy rates of the other concentrations (0.4% and 0.5%) and caused “almost no mucosal irritation”.¹⁹

Nebulized hydrogen peroxide for respiratory infections

It was impressive to see that simply rinsing the nose with normal saline had such a dramatic impact on reducing hospitalizations due to COVID. My favorite intervention for COVID involves a saline spray with a very small amount of hydrogen peroxide added. Most over the counter peroxide has a concentration of 3%, but I recommend diluting it 30 times to 0.1%.

Remember, the study above shows that simply spraying saline is beneficial. You don’t need a lot of peroxide to boost the effect of saline. The video above details how to prepare and administer the hydrogen peroxide solution and how to use the nebulizer.

The KEY here is that the nebulizer and peroxide solution are locked and primed. You must have it in your home BEFORE you get sick. Waiting a few days to get it, if you can at all, could radically reduce its effectiveness.

I recommend using nebulized peroxide for any suspected respiratory infection, and the sooner you start, the better. There’s no danger in doing this every day if you’re exposed frequently, and it may even have additional beneficial effects, such as rapidly increasing blood oxygen levels and optimizing your microbiome.

Since early treatment is key, ideally on day one, you should have a nebulizer and materials already in your home ready to go. I would avoid using a battery operated handheld nebulizer and would rather opt for a unit that you plug into the wall.

I have embraced nebulized peroxide since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and have received many anecdotal reports from people using it successfully, even in more advanced stages. dr. David Brownstein has also successfully treated hundreds of patients with COVID-19 using immune-boosting strategies such as intravenous or nebulized hydrogen peroxide, iodine, oral vitamins A, C, and D, and intramuscular ozone.

In a case report of 107 confirmed COVID-19 patients he treated, 91 (85%) used nebulized peroxide diluted with saline plus Lugol’s iodine.²⁰ Based on Brownstein’s experience, I also recommend adding iodine when spraying, as it seems to make it even more effective.

Tips for effective nasal irrigation

Traditionally, slightly warm salt water — a solution of 2.5 grams of salt in 500 milliliters of water — is recommended for rinsing the nose.²¹ For additional antimicrobial action, povidone iodine (0.5% to 1%) can be added to the saline solution.

A study published in the Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery advises that the use of saline and PVP-I “as an irrigation solution may combine and enhance protection against COVID-19 and may be an important armor in the fight against COVID-19.”²²

If you want to try nasal irrigation with a neti pot or other device and are thinking of making your own saline solution, it is important to remember to use only distilled, sterile or cooled, boiled water. Tap water can contain bacteria and protozoa that can be harmful if they reach your nasal passages,²³ so unboiled tap water should not be used for this purpose.

Originally published October 17, 2022 at Mercola.com

Sources and references