Using saltwater nose rinses might help you get over a cold about a third of a day faster, but the study wasn't sure if this small difference was real luck or just chance.

Using saltwater nose rinses for colds and sinus infections doesn't seem to help adults much, according to studies comparing it to other treatments.

When people use saltwater rinses for stuffy noses from colds, they often feel a little bit of discomfort. This shows that even though it's mostly safe, it can still have some minor bad effects.

Using saltwater nose rinses and gargling might help you get over a cold faster by about 2 days if you start doing it right when symptoms begin.

Using saltwater nose rinses and gargling might help adults with common colds from coronaviruses feel less stuffy faster, cutting down how long their nose stays blocked by about 3 days, according to a small study.

Using saltwater nose rinses and gargling might help healthy adults with colds use 36% less store-bought medicine, according to a small study. This could mean fewer people need drugs for cold symptoms, but bigger studies are needed to be sure.