Salt water 'cures kids colds'
2008-01-21 17:18
Chicago - For parents worried about
how to treat children's colds now that some medicines have been
called into question, the answer may be a dose of salt water.
A nasal spray made from Atlantic Ocean seawater eased
wintertime cold symptoms faster and slowed cough and cold
symptoms from returning among children ages 6 to 10,
researchers in Europe reported on Monday.
It may be that the salt water has a simple mechanical
effect of clearing mucus, or it could be that trace elements in
the water play some more significant role, though the exact
reason why such a solution works is not known, said Dr Ivo
Slapak and colleagues at the Teaching Hospital of Brno in the
Czech Republic.
The study, published in the January issue of the Archives
of Otolaryngology, was paid for by Goemar Laboratoires La
Madeleine, Saint-Malo, France, which makes Physiomer, the
seawater nasal spray used in the investigation.
'Too dangerous'
The authors said that while saline washes have long been
mentioned as a treatment for colds, scientific evidence about
whether they work is poor.
The report was published days after the US Food and Drug
Administration said children under 2 should not be given
Non-prescription cough and cold medicines because they are too
dangerous for that age group, with deaths, convulsions and
rapid heart rates reported in rare cases.
US health officials have not yet decided if the widely
sold medicines made by companies such as Wyeth and Johnson &
Johnson are appropriate for older children, and have said they
hope to have a ruling covering appropriate use for children 2
to 11 later this year.
The American Academy of Paediatrics has said cough and cold
products are ineffective for children under age 6, and may also
be risky.
The Czech study involved 390 children with uncomplicated
cold or flu symptoms.
Some of the children were given standard
treatments such as nasal decongestants.
Saline nasal wash
Others received those
same medications plus the saline nasal wash, which the authors
said "preserves the concentrations of ions and trace elements
at levels comparable with those of seawater."
The study lasted for 12 weeks in the winter of 2006.
Children given the salt water spray got it six times a day
initially and three times a day in the latter part of the study
when the investigators were looking at whether it would prevent
symptoms from redeveloping.
The noses of children given the spray were less stuffy and
runny the second time they were checked, the study said.
And
eight weeks after the study began, those in the saline group
had significantly fewer severe sore throats, coughs, nasal
obstructions and secretions than those given standard
treatments.
Fewer children in the saline group had to use
fever-reducing drugs, nasal decongestants and mucus-dissolving
medications or antibiotics, the researchers said.
In addition
children who used the salt spray were sick less often and
missed fewer school days.