Q: Do all nasal irrigation products work equally effectively?

A: No. Not all products are created equal with some products better than others. A nasal irrigation system consists of two parts: the irrigator, and the rinse mix. The quality and the design of the irrigator, and the formulation of the rinse mix can significantly influence the effectiveness of the product. Some nasal irrigators in the market are poorly designed or poorly manufactured. The most serious design defect of some common nasal irrigators in the market is backflow. Backflow means that dirty washing solution re-enters into the nasal irrigator because of the negative pressure inside the irrigator. Because liquid in the nasal cavity may contain bacteria, fungi, or viruses, if such liquid enters into the irrigator, the irrigator and the remaining solution in the irrigator could become contaminated, hence, re-infection of nasal cavity and or sinus cavities may occur. Therefore, backflow may pose a potentially serious health risk to the user.

All rinse mixes contain salt, either table salt or sea salt. Table salt is much cheaper than sea salt, but it is also not as good as sea salt. Because sea salts are rich in other health beneficial minerals or trace elements besides sodium, it is better for mucus membranes and cilia, and it may also have indirect anti-bacterial, anti- fungal, anti- viral and anti- inflammatory effects. Therefore, rinse mix with sea salt is superior to those with regular salt. In addition, aloe vera is very useful in maintaining nasal moisture, the citric buffer is to balance the pH and enhances sense of smell. Better ingredients, better results.