Salt water nasal wash

Salt water gargle has always proved its worth for me whenever my throat starts to irritate, but salt water for stuffy nose is new knowledge to me. Alman started to sneeze and cough a bit too frequently at the beginning of the week. Dr Wong confirmed a slight fever, sore throat and stuffy nose. He was given cough medicine and sea water solution (Sterimar) as nasal spray. That’s quite fascinating, my babies were never given that in the 80s. So I googled and found out about salt water flushing being an ayurdevic practice originally and that it is now widely advocated, though no scientific studies have yet been done to prove its claims.

“In proper proportion, nasal salt water solution with slight acidic Ph functions as an anti-bacterial irrigant. The flow of salt water through the nasal passages flushes the dirt, airborne allergens (dust and pollen, pollutants and bacteria-filled mucus” (Wikipedia). There is a host of explanations and testimony on it, but main things I gathered are that it helps thin the mucus, enables the tiny hairs (cilia) in the nasal passage to function better, ie to push excess mucus to the back of the throat or to the nose to be expelled and that it is also good for people with sinus problems. And the salt water must be iodine free.

Alman doesn’t seem to mind the nasal spray too much, but it is quite a task getting all of the 1.5 ml cough medicine down as he always manages to spurt some out and even purses his lips when the syringe approaches. Clever, isn’t he? Anyway, he is getting much better, probably more from the constant hugs and cuddles (which he seems to insist on more since he got sick) than what the doctor gave. Some of his “newborn” clothes are getting tight, especially at the crotch! He is “talking” quite a lot now and loves to lie on Tok’s lap and his arms…the most cushiony around!