Sixty seconds on . . . nasal sprays

Who nose what’s going on?A group of UK researchers, that’s who. Their large randomised trial1 has found that over-the-counter nasal sprays can keep coughs, colds, and flu at bay and prevent full blown symptoms from developing.Sniffing out the evidenceResearchers from the universities of Southampton and Bristol looked at data from nearly 12 000 adults from 332 GP practices. Patients were randomised to receive either a gel based nasal spray (2935), a saline liquid based nasal spray (2967), an online tool promoting physical activity and stress management (2727), or usual care such as rest, keeping warm, fluids, or other over-the-counter drugs apart from nasal sprays (2983).Nasal gazing?Their results, published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine, showed that compared with those receiving usual care (mean 8.2 (standard deviation 16.1) days of illness), people who had the gel based spray (mean 6.5 days of illness (SD 12.8); adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.82 (99% confidence interval…
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