The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has had worldwide reach, affecting most developed nations within weeks of it leaving China’s Wuhan province where it emanated from. But interestingly, nearby Thailand has had an incredibly low number of cases and deaths, which has led American doctor Amy Baxter’s research to conclude that this one personal hygiene habit is a key reason: nasal irrigation.
Thai authorities have been announcing only single-digit daily new coronavirus cases for a while now, and no deaths as a result of COVID-19 in months, as they plan to gradually reopen the borders to foreign tourists. Since the start of the outbreak, there have been only 3,427 reported cases of COVID-19 in the kingdom, leading to only 58 deaths. These numbers are impressively low considering the country has a population of 70 million and welcomes tens of millions of Chinese tourists each year, including daily flights from Wuhan up until April.
Why are the numbers so low? Well, a vast majority of Thais regularly cleanse their sinuses. And according to Dr Baxter that has a huge impact on their ability to fight viruses. In an interview with Best Life, Baxter noted the total deaths in Southeast Asian countries such a Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos are particularly low. “Yes, they wear masks, and yes, they bow and don’t shake hands, but the biggest difference between them and places like South Korea or Japan is that nasal irrigation is practiced by 80 per cent of people,” she says.
After considerable research with colleagues who focus on ear, nose, and throat and pulmonary treatment, Dr Baxter added, “I believe strongly that nasal irrigation is the key to reducing COVID-19 progression of symptoms and infectivity.” According to Baxter, recent clinical trials have shown that nasal irrigation reduces the duration and symptoms for other viral illnesses such as flu and common cold, although it hasn’t yet been studied for COVID-19.
Still, she has multiple reasons for believing that this approach can be effective in preventing coronavirus from worsening in a patient. “SARS-CoV2’s viral load is heaviest in sinuses and nasal cavity,” she noted. There is a growing belief in medical communities that the viral load of COVID-19 is a significant variable in whether or not an individual develops serious symptoms. Baxter explained how the build-up of viral particles in one’s sinus can lead to respiratory illness, but flushing it out once or twice a day “gives the immune system time to figure out what it needs while reducing the enemy.”
For anyone who is exposed to or tests positive for COVID-19, Baxter suggests the following self-treatment:
“Do a hypertonic nasal irrigation with half a teaspoon of povidone-iodine in the a.m. and in the evening with eight ounces of boiled lukewarm tap water, half a teaspoon of baking soda, and one teaspoon of salt per cup of H2O,” she explains.
According to Dr Baxter, there are nine new registered trials that are now testing this idea, including at Stanford, University of Kentucky, NYU Langone, University of Pittsburgh, and Vanderbilt among others. In short, regularly flushing one’s sinuses using the above method could be an effective way to keep the COVID-19 contagion from building up and entering the lungs and causing respiratory problems.
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