Does rinsing your nose with salt water help colds?
Saline nasal irrigation for acute upper respiratory tract infections.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Limited evidence of benefit despite common use
Nasal saline is widely recommended, but the abstract states most results showed no difference from control, contradicting popular belief.
Practical Takeaways
Adults may try nasal saline irrigation for colds to potentially reduce symptoms slightly and miss less work, but expect minor discomfort.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Limited evidence of benefit despite common use
Nasal saline is widely recommended, but the abstract states most results showed no difference from control, contradicting popular belief.
Practical Takeaways
Adults may try nasal saline irrigation for colds to potentially reduce symptoms slightly and miss less work, but expect minor discomfort.
Publication
Journal
The Cochrane database of systematic reviews
Year
2010
Authors
J. Kassel, David King, G. Spurling
Related Content
Claims (6)
Using saltwater nose rinses can help you get over a cold faster, cut down on how much medicine you need, and make it less likely to spread the cold to others in your home.
Using saltwater nose rinses for colds and sinus infections doesn't seem to help adults much, according to studies comparing it to other treatments.
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 might help working adults get back to work faster when they have colds or sinus infections, which could save money.
About 4 out of 10 babies didn't handle saline nose drops well when they had colds, showing that many little kids don't like this treatment.