The Study
Saline nasal irrigation for acute upper respiratory tract infections.
This study looks at other studies about using saltwater nose rinses for colds. It can tell us what those studies found, but it can't prove the rinses actually work because the studies weren't very good.
Analysis score
Maximum 100 for a systematic review.
Where the score came from
Scientists looked at studies where people rinsed their noses with salt water when they had colds.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 520 / 100
Quality score
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of cohort studies. They sit above a single cohort study but below a single randomized trial, because the underlying evidence is still observational.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1It might help a tiny bit for adults, but babies often hate it.
- 2Most studies found no big difference.
- 3One study said it might help adults feel better 0.3 days faster and miss less work.
- 440% of babies didn't like the nose drops.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
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.
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.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.