Saltwater Nasal Drops Could Help Shorten Kids’ Colds, Study Says

Saltwater nasal drops might be more than just a temporary fix for your child’s cold. According to a new study set to be presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, these drops could cut the length of a cold by up to two days and even help stop it from spreading to other family members.

The study, known as ELVIS-Kids, involved over 400 kids aged six and under. They were split into two groups: one group received hypertonic saline (saltwater) nasal drops, and the other group got usual cold care. Of the 301 children who caught a cold, those using the saltwater drops had their symptoms for an average of six days, compared to eight days for those who didn’t use the drops.

“Children have up to 10 to 12 upper respiratory tract infections, what we refer to as colds, per year, which have a big impact on them and their families. There are medicines to improve symptoms, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, but no treatments that can make a cold get better quicker,” the study’s lead, Professor Steve Cunningham from the University of Edinburgh, noted in a press release. This study provides an encouraging step forward in possibly shortening the duration of colds.

Children using the saltwater drops not only felt better faster but also passed their colds to fewer family members. Around 46 percent of families with saltwater-treated children saw additional cases of colds, compared to 61 percent in the usual care group. Plus, 82 percent of parents said the drops helped their child recover quicker, and 81% plan to use them again.

“Salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Chloride is used by the cells lining the nose and windpipes to produce hypochlorous acid within cells, which they use to defend against virus infection. By giving extra chloride to the lining cells this helps the cells produce more hypochlorous acid, which helps suppress viral replication, reducing the length of the virus infection, and therefore the duration of symptoms,” Cunningham explained.

While more research is needed, ERS hopes that saltwater nasal drops could be a simple, effective and inexpensive tool for parents dealing with their child’s cold. “This extremely cheap and simple intervention has the potential to be applied globally; providing parents with a safe and effective way to limit the impact of colds in their children and family would represent a significant reduction in health and economic burden of this most common condition,” said Professor Alexander Möeller, the Head of the ERS Pediatric Assembly.

Here’s to fewer days spent fighting off pesky colds!

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