COLDS: HOW THE NOSE KEEPS US HEALTHY
By Dr. Lon Jones

September is almost over, the kids are back in school and life seems to be getting back to normal. But soon it will get cold and the heaters will need to be turned on in the home. Due to these causes, Fall is a time when many people get sick with respiratory infections, therefore the subject must be continually examined.

During the Summer months most people spend more time outdoors absorbing the outside air. This air is usually more humid, containing more water vapor. The extra moisture helps keep the nasal membranes moist and clean. After Summer, when the heat comes back on indoors we become much more susceptible to respiratory infections like colds.  

Alaska's Native Americans are a good example of dry air and colds. For millennia, the Native Americans in Alaska lived in the cold. Even the shelters they inhabited allowed for the regular flow of cold air. Cold air helps the nasal passages flow, which helps wash them out. When the Native Americans were relegated to living in prefabricated homes with central heating, an increase in colds occurred among their children. So much so that now the incidence of ear infections among these Alaskan natives is the highest in the world.
     The primary cause of ear infections is bacteria living in the mucus in the back of the nose. When nasal passages are dried, due to indoor heating systems, the bacteria does not move, but produces more bacteria, causing more illnesses.
     Northern Europe shares much of the same weather as does Alaska, but people in that part of the world do not experience as many health problems (i.e. colds, flu, etc.) as the Native Americans. One probable reason is the common use of saunas that contain air vaporized by heated rocks. The steam does a very good job of cleansing the nose. Water consumption is also an excellent illness prevention technique. Eight glasses of water a day is recommended to maintain good health.  

Clean filters in heating systems also prevent some causes of nasal allergies. Layered filters do an extremely good job of removing dust. Those who suffer from sinus problems can do several things to help eliminate the causes. A humidifier increases the moisture in our dry homes. If you get shocked touching a doorknob after walking across the room your air is too dry. Rinsing the nose with saline or, better yet, washing it with a mixture of xylitol and saline keeps the nose moist, helps eliminate infections and prevents allergies.

Another factor leading to the increase in colds and respiratory infections is close contact with other people. Close contact with others tends to spread the bacteria that trigger these infections causing more people to get new strains of infections and become sick. Many people are like "Typhoid Mary" and carry these bacteria. It is impossible to treat every carrier, so what is to be done? The most common solution is to get sick so that our immune system recognizes the new strain and it doesn't bother us any longer. However, a person may become a carrier in this process. The other solution is to wash the nose regularly and try to keep the number of bacteria that normally live in the back of the nose low enough that the immune system doesn't have a major problem keeping them in check. The new, exciting, and most effective way to do this is to use xylitol spray. Check out www.nasal-xylitol.com for information on this spray.