Saline Nasal Spray- Better to Sniff?
One of the people I saw today asked me about the different ways to deliver saline solution into the nose. She wanted to know why it was better to sniff it from the palm of the hand rather than using a squirt bottle to spray the solution into the nose.
First of all it’s definitely not bad to use a spray bottle to squirt saline solution up into the nose. In fact that’s a great way to moisturize the lining of the nose especially during the winter time. In many cases people are living in a place where the humidity is about 3% (pretty dry, kind of like a desert) so this is a good way to humidify the lining of the nose.
The main negative for just using a spray solution from a bottle is that you will not usually spray up enough solution to mobilize or move secretions that might be in the way of the sinus passages. When they are in the way of the sinus openings it has the effect of plugging the sinuses. The way most people use a saline nasal spray, the effect is to maybe make the nose run a little but no real effect on the sinuses.
When you “sniff” the saline solution into your nose you create a completely different dynamic. The volume of solution is 10-20 times what might be moved from just spraying the nasal solution, and this volume has a very powerful effect on actually “grabbing” secretions and moving them. If those secretions are in the way of the sinus opening then you have “in effect” helped to keep the sinus open and decrease the chances of it getting infected.
There is a way to get a similar, although I still think not quite as good, result by using the nasal saline spray bottle. Essentially you have to get a lot more solution up the nose by spraying 15-20 times in each nostril. You need to keep sniffing the solution up the nose while you continue to spray it into the nose. This increased volume of solution does get hold of more secretions and helps to get a similar result as if you were sniffing the solution from your hand. The key is continuing to sniff the solution up as you continue to spray the solution up.
So, in summary, the best way to really mobilize secretions that might be blocking a sinus opening is to use large volumes of saline and to sniff it from the palm of your hand. This will work the best if you use the right technique. You can get a picture of that technique from my blog.
Want to find out more about how nasal saline can help your symptoms?, be sure to visit Stanley Lang’s site on how to choose the best saline nasal spray for your needs.
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