Children often catch a cold, which usually runs its course. Although a mild illness, the common cold often stirs anxiety in parents as it can escalate into severe respiratory infections and fever, and spread to others in the family. However, a recent study suggests a quick remedy that not only shortens the duration of a cold but also lowers the risk of transmission.

In the latest study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, Austria, the researchers discovered that using nasal saline drops can reduce the length of the common cold in children by two days.

"Children have up to 10 to 12 upper respiratory tract infections, what we refer to as colds, per year, which have a big impact on them and their families. There are medicines to improve symptoms, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, but no treatments that can make a cold get better quicker," said Professor Steve Cunningham from Child Life and Health, University of Edinburgh, UK, who presented the study.

Salt-water solutions, like nasal irrigation and gargling, are common remedies recommended for colds. Researchers decided to test the clinical benefits of saline nasal solution in a trial involving 407 children under six. Of the 407 participants, 301 kids caught a cold during the study. When the kids developed a cold, half of the parents were taught to make salt-water nose drops and apply them to their children (three drops per nostril, at least four times a day) while the other half gave the children their usual care.

"We found that children using salt-water nose drops had cold symptoms for an average of six days, whereas those with usual care had symptoms for eight days. The children receiving salt water nose drops also needed fewer medicines during their illness," Professor Cunningham said.

During the trial, 82% of parents said the nose drops helped the child get better quickly and 81% said they would use nose drops in the future.

So how does a simple salt water work against the cold virus? Salt contains sodium and chloride, and the cells in the nose and windpipes use chloride to create hypochlorous acid, which helps defend against viruses.

"By giving extra chloride to the lining cells, this helps the cells produce more hypochlorous acid, which helps suppress viral replication, reducing the length of the virus infection, and therefore the duration of symptoms," explained Professor Cunningham.

The benefits of saline nasal drops go beyond shortening a cold's duration. The study noted that they also reduce transmission within households, lowering the spread from 61% with usual care to 46% when nasal drops are used.

"This extremely cheap and simple intervention has the potential to be applied globally; providing parents with a safe and effective way to limit the impact of colds in their children and family would represent a significant reduction in health and economic burden of this most common condition," said Professor Alexander Möeller, Head of the ERS Pediatric Assembly and Head of the Department for Respiratory Medicine at the University Children's Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, who was not involved in the research.

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