Allergy Relief by Saline Wave Irrigation

The nose, the sinuses, the trachea and the bronchial passages all have tiny oars called cilia. Think of these as controlled whips. These cilia lean back and then snap forward. Normally you have a wave action produced by the synchronous cilia movement. By moving pollen and dust out of the nose and sinuses, you get allergy relief. These cilia are in a liquid medium. When the cilia fail to do their job of moving pollen out of the nose or bronchia, then allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma can develop.

What happens is that when pollen, dust or bacteria land in the nose, they get entangled in the mucus blanket. Then the cilia whips so that the mucus with its pollen/bacteria or dust is propelled out of the nose. The pollen goes towards the back of the nose, then goes down the pharynx to the stomach where the acid takes it out.

If Cilia Don’t Eject Pollen and Bacteria
A common cause of sinusitis occurs when the cilia slow down. Then the bacteria may remain in the nose long enough to reproduce and produce the toxins that cause sinus disease. After days of allergic sneezing and congestion, a sinus infection may start because the cilia are exhausted and no longer move the bacteria out. Most allergists recommend desensitization (shots) in order to prevent chronic sinusitis developing from allergy. Before we had pulse wave available, that was a standard reason for desensitization.

Measuring Nasal Cilia:
The doctor can measure the speed of the nasal cilia by placing a particle of saccharin into the nose and see how long it takes for the saccharin to be moved to the back of the nose and into the throat. When it reaches the throat it is tasted. The saccharine is moved by the synchronous pulsatile wave action of the tiny cilia.
Unfortunately cilia slow down once allergy symptoms are present for a while. Or toxins from bacteria do this. Or, there may be dryness in the nose due to lowered fluid intake or medications.

How Tea Gives Allergy Relief
After days of allergic neezing, losing sleep, and attendant fatigue, cilia slow down and need to be reactivated. Tea- green or black- contains L Theonine which stimulates cilia. Sufficient liquid is needed to insure that the mucus blanket will be thin enough to allow good cilia function.
Lemon drink thins the mucus blanket to allow for favorable cilia movement. Honey also acts favorably. Therefore for best cilia movement for Allergy Relief, drink tea, lemon and honey-hot.

Exercise, particularly jumping, acts to stimulate cilia movement. Air vibration can cause a similar vibration of the mucus blanket and the cilia. Thus humming “oooommmm” is recommended during the allergy season for this purpose in order to maintain normal cilia beat frequency.

Pulsatile Saline Irrigation

Wave irrigation sends a pulsating stream in one nostril and out the other. A motor keeps the pressure at a correct level, and a pump action regulates the frequency of pulsation to match the normal cilia beat frequency. The exact frequency, pressure, and direction are important.
Pulsing saline irrigation at certain frequencies act to move cilia back and forth so that they resume normal cilia beat frequency. Thus, not only does pulsatile irrigation flush out thick mucus, dust, bacteria and pollen, but its action restores normal cilia function. This will prevent the allergy symptoms persisting, and prevent sinusitis from developing.
A major factor in Allergy Relief using pulsatile irrigation is that the blood IgE is lowered. Less IgE means less allergy symptoms.
Caution: The lowered IgE may effect blood tests used to identify specific allergens. Discontinue pulse wave irrigation five days before allergy tests.

In allergic rhinitis, nasal tissues swell. Fluid such as lymph liquid swells the tissues. The milking action of pulsatile saline nasal irrigation acts as a massage, its wave like action massages out this stale lymphatic fluid to thin the swollen tissue and open the airway. This massage like action helps bring fresh blood into the area for better healing. This is the same wave action that is used in massage to move fluid out of swollen muscles. If you visualize muscle massage, you can appreciate how important the rate of pulsation, the pressure and the direction of the pulse wave is for allergy and sinus treatment.

For many patients, using wave irrigation has enabled them to avoid the pills and sprays during pollen season. This allergy relief is important not just for feeling good, but also for preventing the development of chronic sinusitis.

If signs of an infection do appear, I have my patients add Xylitol to the Hydro Pulse® Nasal/Sinus irrigator saline solution. Adding three teaspoons of Xylitol to the 500 cc Hydro Pulse® basin makes a 1 ½% solution that will reduce bacterial count and allow natural immunity to handle the remaining bacteria.