Atomised nasal douche may be better  [ Return towards  Scientific information  ]

Medscape

"Aerosol therapy is not really effective when only the upper airway is involved in the inflammatory process," says Desiderio Passali of Siena University. "This is because the particles are too small to be deposited in the upper airway."

At the ORL department of Siena University, 200 patients affected by acute viral rhinitis underwent four treatments a day for 15 days with a specific upper airway nasal spray (atomised nasal douche) and nasal washing with isotonic solution.
The authors suggest that using a specific nebuliser is more effective than just nasal washing in improving physiological nasal function thanks to enhanced "coverage" of the nasal mucosa, especially the middle and superior nasal meatuses.
Furthermore, fluid secretions do not stagnate inside the nasal cavities; they drain out and collect in a chamber of the nebuliser, thereby reducing nasal stenosis caused by secretions ("A modern approach to the treatment of some infant rhinopathies", Anselmi, Passali, Ferrara).