[Application of nasal saline irrigation in nasal inflammatory diseases]

Nasal irrigation is a common topical treatment in rhinology. Saline irrigation(SI) is the most common and basic way of nasal irrigation. Mechanisms of action of SI contain physical clearance, regulation of nasal mucociliary function, enhancement of antimicrobial activity of nasal secretions and the effects of ions.Current solutions for SI differ in composition and physicochemical properties, specifically presence of additional ions, concentration of saline, pH values and temperature. Positive pressure should be an optimized method of SI. The side effects of SI include nasal discomfort, otalgia, and pooling of saline in sinuses with subsequent drainage. Furthermore, solutions are at the risk of contamination in SI.Despite the widely use of SI in the therapy of acute upper respiratory tract infections, allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis and vasomotor rhinitis, evidence is still insufficient to support it. Researches in the use of SI on children is urgently needed.