The study involved 55 adults between the ages of 18 and 65 who tested positive for COVID between 2020 and 2022. Participants were assigned to use either a low- or high-saline solution and directed to gargle and rinse their nasal passages four times a day for 14 days. Researchers then compared the participants to a reference group of nearly 9,400 people who had COVID-19.
Researchers found the hospitalization rates in the low- and high-saline regimen groups, 18.5% and 21.4%, respectively, were significantly lower than the nearly 60% rate in the reference population. The study has not yet been published in a medical journal and is being presented at this year’s American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting in California.
“It’s a very simple intervention that is universally available, cheap and easy to use,” Jimmy Espinoza, MD, study author and professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Texas at Houston’s McGovern Medical School, told The Washington Post. “I think it can make a difference, especially when it comes to comfort.”
The research supports findings from earlier, smaller studies that suggest saline irrigation can reduce viral load and clear it from the throat and nasal passages. While promising, infectious disease experts not involved with the study told the Post additional research is needed and that the remedy should never be used as a substitute for vaccination or treatments like Paxlovid. They also noted the study had a key limitation of not having a blinded placebo “control” group, or a cohort in which some participants received an alternative regimen or no regimen.
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