Inhaling steam for blocked sinuses has little benefit when you’re bunged up, study says
- Practice of breathing in hot steam has little benefit, and can cause burns
- Study follows research which found that steaming doesn’t help with colds
- Millions of Britons suffer from sinusitis, in which sinuses become inflamed
Fiona Macrae for the Daily Mail
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Inhaling steam won’t help clear your sinuses when you’re bunged up, scientists say.
They found that the popular practice of breathing in the steam from a bowl of recently-boiled water had little or no benefit.
The Southampton University study follows other research which found steaming doesn’t help with colds – and can even cause burns.
The Southampton University study found that the popular practice of breathing in the steam from a bowl of recently-boiled water had little or no benefit – and can cause burns
Millions of Britons suffer from sinusitis, in which the sinuses – small air-filled cavities behind the cheekbones and forehead- become inflamed and blocked.
This leads to difficulty in breathing through the nose, tenderness and headaches and can have as big an effect on quality of life as an ailing heart.
Antibiotics are of limited help, and with over-prescription contributing to antibiotic resistance, many GPs recommend steaming instead.
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Nasal irrigation, in which the inside of the nose is cleaned with a salt water solution, is also often recommended.
Researcher Professor Paul Little compared the health of almost 900 Britons with sinusitis.
Some were prescribed steam inhalation, others nasal irrigation or nasal irrigation combined with steaming.
A fourth group had their usual treatment.
After six months, only those who did nasal irrigation showed any real improvement.
The study revealed nasal irrigation, in which the inside of the nose is cleaned with a salt water solution, was the best treatment for sinusitis and colds (file photo)
These patients felt better, took fewer pills and said they would be less likely to seek help from their doctor in future.
Steaming did help a little but only in easing headaches, the Canadian Medical Association Journal reports.
Professor Little said: ‘The threat of global antibiotics resistance is very real and we need to find alternative ways of educating and treating people who do not need to have antibiotics.
‘We have found that even a very brief intervention of a video showing patients how to use saline nasal irrigation can improve symptoms, help people feel they do not need to see the doctor to manage the problem and reduce the amount of over-the-counter medication they get.
‘We found potentially important changes in other outcomes, for example the belief in the need to see the doctor in future episodes.
‘The evidence of reduced medialisation is important in the longer term given most consultations result in an antibiotic prescription and the attendant dangers of antibiotic resistance.’
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