From Colds to COVID: Saline's Dual Role in Prevention and Recovery
STORY AT-A-GLANCE According to recent research, gargling and rinsing your nasal passages with saline can ease the respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 and reduce your risk of hospitalization The hospitalization rate among those gargling and irrigating their sinuses four times a day for 14 days, using 2.13 grams of salt dissolved in 8 ounces of warm water, was 18.5%. Those who used 6 grams of salt had a hospitalization rate of 21.4%. The untreated reference population had a hospitalization rate of 58.8% Nasal irrigation and gargling with hypertonic saline has also been shown to reduce the duration of the common cold by 1.9 days and reduce transmission within the household by 35% when done within 48 hours of symptom onset Irrigating your sinuses with povidone-iodine has also been shown to reduce COVID hospitalization rates Nebulizing hydrogen peroxide may be the most effective strategy of all. In most respiratory infection cases, improvement is seen within a few hours. Some of your imm...