Study Touts Nasal Wash for Kids' Colds

Jan. 22, 2008 -- A saline nasal wash, used several times daily, may curb children's cold symptoms, Czech researchers report.

The saline nasal wash, made from Atlantic saltwater, doesn't cure the common cold; nothing does.

But the new study shows that children with colds who used the saline nasal wash had three advantages over children who didn't use the saline nasal wash:

• Bigger drop in cold symptoms
• Less use of cold medicines
• Fewer school absences

The study included nearly 400 Czech Republic children aged 6-10 who had colds. All of them got routine care for their colds. Half also used the saline nasal wash in a spray form six times daily during their colds and three times daily for cold prevention after their colds ended.

The saline nasal wash was well-tolerated, report the researchers, who included Ivo Slapak, MD, of the Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Clinic at the Teaching Hospital Brno in the Czech Republic.

The study appears in this month's Archives of Otolaryngology. Funding came from Goemar Laboratoires La Madeleine, the French company that makes the study's saline nasal wash.