Robin Curhan says nasal irrigation can relieve headaches, allergies and colds.
(ABCNEWS.com)
Robyn Curhan, 43, found relief from the pain and pressure in her sinuses by using a syringe to do saline nasal irrigation.
Watch a video demonstrating nasal irrigation using a syringe.
Using syringes to do nasal irrigation is an example of positive pressure irrigation, in which pressure is applied to a liquid so that it travels up the nostrils. The Laryngoscope study found positive pressure to be most effective at distributing a lot of solution far into the nasal passages.
Flushing a large area of the nasal passages clears mucous buildup and irritating allergens, allowing fluids in the sinuses -- the large and small cavernous areas concentrated around the nose, behind the eyes and up into the forehead -- to drain freely through the nose.
Clearing these regions helps prevent the pain and pressure that occur due to backed up sinus fluids during a cold or severe allergies.
But doctors urge caution when using syringes because they can spray water with force. And if water does not drain out through the nostrils, it drains through the throat.
"I worry that people would be too vigorous," said Dr. Roberta Lee, medical director at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. "People don't realize how delicate the tissues up there are."
To protect those tissues a little and remove some of the sting of the salt water, Haddon recommends adding a pinch of baking powder, as Curhan does, to lower the pH and buffer the solution.
Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.
