Over-the-counter nasal sprays could be a powerful weapon against a major public health threat—antibiotic resistance, researchers report.

Their review, which looked at data from nearly 14,000 adults, found that regular nasal sprays can help prevent upper respiratory infections, reducing the need for antibiotics. diseases.

Antibiotic resistance caused by the overuse and misuse of these drugs makes it difficult to treat bacterial infections.

“If they’re used a lot, these [nasal spray] The intervention could play an important role in reducing antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance, and reducing the impact of respiratory pathogens on patients,” said co-author Adam Geraghty, associate professor of professor of psychology and behavioral medicine at the University of Southampton in England.

A new study, published on July 11 by The Lancet Respiratory Medicinenewspaper, found that the use of over-the-counter nasal sprays reduced the number of days people had severe upper respiratory symptoms. Sick days are down by about 20%.

The researchers say their curiosity was piqued by recent evidence showing using nasal sprays to flush out germs from the nose and throat, or boost the immune system. disease through exercise and stress management, can reduce the incidence and severity of respiratory diseases.

They recruited 13,800 patients from 332 medical practices in the UK All had an existing health issue, risk of infection or history of recurrent respiratory disease. They were randomly assigned to three groups.

Another group developed a gel-based nasal spray, which uses microgels to trap and reduce nasal congestion. to prevent them from spreading. The second received a saline nasal spray, which reduces the levels of the virus in the upper part of the throat behind the nose. The third group was directed to an online resource that promotes exercise and stress management.

These three measures reduce the use of antibiotics and the number of days with severe symptoms. Both sprays reduced the overall duration of illness by 20% even though participants did not use them as often as prescribed.

Days of work and normal activity lost decreased by 20% to 30%—compared to 5% in the group that received only stress management.

“Our results show nasal sprays are effective in reducing the duration and severity of respiratory infections, and the interference with normal activities,” said co-author Paul Little, professor of primary care research at the University of Southampton, said a university press release. .

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