Abstract
Intranasal corticosteroids are well known to be efficacious in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. Nasal irrigation with saline, including hypertonic saline, has long been recommended for the treatment of sinonasal disease, and it has been shown to have a positive effect on the physiology of the nasal mucosa. Until now, no study of the clinical efficacy of intranasal hypertonic Dead Sea saline as a monotherapy for seasonal allergic rhinitis has been reported. We conducted a prospective, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled comparison of intranasal hypertonic Dead Sea saline spray and intranasal aqueous triamcinolone spray in 15 patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Results were based on a 7-day regimen. Based on Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire scores, clinically and statistically significant (p < 0.0001) improvements were seen in both active-treatment groups; as expected, the corticosteroid spray was the more effective of the two treatments. No significant improvement occurred in the control group. Our preliminary results not only confirm the efficacy of intranasal corticosteroid therapy in moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis, they also suggest that the Dead Sea saline solution can be an effective alternative in mild-to-moderate allergic rhinitis, particularly with respect to nasal and eye symptoms. The hypertonicity of the Dead Sea solution may have a positive effect on the physiology of the nasal mucosa by improving mucociliary clearance. In addition, the dominant cation in the Dead Sea solution--magnesium--probably exerts anti-inflammatory effects on the nasal mucosa and on the systemic immune response.
