Natural Sinus Care improves Nasal Muco-ciliary Movement

In healthy people, our nasal cavity and the mucosal cells in the paranasal sinus continuously secrete a clear fluid, which is brought, by the regular pulsation of the cilia on the surface of the mucosal cells, backward from the paranasal sinus, through the nasal cavity, to the nasopharynx, then larynx, and then swallowed into the esophagus and stomach. An average adult secretes about 1 liter of the mucus daily, which is to maintain the humidity in the nasal cavity and the inside of the paranasal sinus, and to adsorb the dusts and stimuli from the air, hence to maintain the healthy of the respiratory tract. On the other hand, the uptaking of viruses or bacteria, or stimuli of foreign objects will turn the clear mucus into a thick pus, or cause the cilia unable to pulsate regularly. Both cases will result in a nasal mucus of thick pus, or a feeling of the mucus running backward, which causes rhino-sinusitis or various type of rhinitis.

Inside the nasal cavity and the bronchus,  there are millions of tiny cilia which, like oars in a boat, sway in a highly coordinated style and bring dusts and bacteria to the larynx from the nasal cavity and the  bronchus. They will then be swallowed into stomach and get degraded. In the chest, the swaying of these cilia brings bacteria and dusts upward to the larynx through the respiratory tract so they can be swallowed into the stomach for degradation. Efficient function of this mechanism prevents rhino-sinusitis. If the movement of the cilia in the thoracic cavity loses efficiency, coughing will occur, which is to remove the bacteria and dusts in the respiratory tract.

The prevention of the nasal cavity from the infection by bacteria depends mainly on the lysozymes, immunoglobulin, and the phagocytes in the mucus secreted in the nasal cavity. The flowing of the mucus in the nasal cavity enables the removing of the bacteria with it, thereby deceases the possibility of entry of bacteria and infection in the cells. Metabolic wastes released by the bacteria is also diluted and their toxicity decreased. The mucus from the nasal cavity also contain mast cells and globulin, which have protection effects. When the cilia can no longer sway this layer of protection effectively, this system of protection and protection cells will not be able to reach the spots which need to be protected.

From above, this set of muco-ciliary protection system, which includes both the cells transporting the mucus and those cells secreting the mucus, is very importantly to our health.

Amazingly, these cilia show good coordination, and they are able to transport the mucus along a specific direction. The cilia inside the paranasal sinus all sway toward the opening to the nasal cavity, while the cilia inside the nasal cavity all sway backward. Therefore, the mucus in the nasal cavity flow first to the naso-pharynx, then are swallowed into the stomach for degradation.

When there is viral infection, the swaying of the cilia may be slow down, due to the effect of the virus. This may provide chances for bacteria to invade, which otherwise will be removed by the movement of the mucus and cilia. Thus, all methods which may help to restore the movement of the cilia, such as hot chicken soap, hot tea, or hot compression on the paranasal sinus and the nasal cavity, are effective.

The pulsatile nasal irrigator uses warm aqueous solution (3 grams of NaCl and 1.5 grams of NaHCO₃ in 500 milliliter of warm water) with a pH close to that of the mucus in the nasal cavity. It can effectively help therapy of all kinds of acute or chronic rhinitis and rhino-sinusitis, as well as decrease the chance of cold and rhinitis.

 The pulsatile nasal irrigator can not only flush and clear the sticky secretion in the nasal cavity, it is also more effective than the ordinary irrigators in the market because it applies a pulsatile hydrotherapy, with a frequency close to that of the movement of the cilia in the paranasal sinuses, to effectively help restoring the regular pulsation of the cilia. Once the cilia resume their regular pulsation, the normal function of the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinus can be restored.

In most cases, infections of the upper respiratory tract, including rhino-sinusitis and nasal allergy, are contributed by the malfunction of the movement of the cilia cells in the nasal mucosa. By their regular movement, the cilia cells in the nasal mucosa are able to effectively remove the invading contaminant objects and infectious pathogens, and maintain our health. Most of the medicines and nasal sprayers are to only relieve the symptoms. Even though some medicines may kill the bacteria and temporarily cure the pathologic changes, they do not act to enhance the immune system in our body against a possible future infection. On the other hand, the pulsatile nasal irrigator may be used to restore the pathologic changes in the paranasal sinus by help the cilia in the nasal mucosa resuming their regular movement, and no other medicines are needed. In our body, the most important weapon to fight against infections in the upper respiratory tract is the regular cilia movement in the nasal mucosa, and the design of the pulsatile nasal irrigator aims exactly at assisting the cilia in the nasal mucosa to restore their normal movement. Many medical reports have proven that frequent use of the pulsatile nasal irrigator can not only refresh one with a short treatment, but also increase our resistance against cold and rhino-sinusitis.

Many of us get ill because of the exposure to the smoke and dusts of metropolitan contamination on our work. A regular use of the pulsatile nasal irrigator will clear our nose, and make us more healthy, more vigorous, and happier.