United States: A large randomized controlled trial found that nasal sprays significantly reduced days of illness among high-risk groups vulnerable to respiratory infections.
In primary care the patients using saline spray reported an average of 6.4 days of respiratory illness, while those using a gel-based nasal spray reported 6.5 days. This is compared to 8.2 days for those receiving usual care alone, according to a 6-month questionnaire.
Study Insights and Impact
The study, led by Dr. Paul Little of the University of Southampton, showed nasal sprays were more effective than behavioural interventions in reducing illness duration.

Though the number of the lost workdays among the patients who were treated with wither nasal spray was seriously modestly lower in the open-label immune defence study.
As reported in Medpagetoday, “If widely advocated and implemented, these simple scalable interventions could potentially have an important impact on antimicrobial stewardship, and in reducing the impact of respiratory viruses for patients, the health service, and the wider economy,” Little’s group wrote in Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
Patient Instructions and Study Findings
Patients in the study considered at the high risk due to age and many factors like obesity, immune compromise and heart disease like asthma or diabetes as well were instructed to use the sprays at the first signs of the illness after the potential exposure to the infection.
Little group that noted that the Immune Defence study was also the first trail to the test a pragmatic, scalable behavioural intervention to aid in the prevention and treatment of the respiratory illnesses.
Additional Study Outcomes
However, all three interventions tested in the study resulted in significantly reduced antibiotic use versus usual care (ranging from a relative 26% reduction with the behavioural intervention to 35% with the gel-based spray) and in fewer days with moderately bad symptoms.
A total of 429 patients withdrew from the trial citing reasons such as being unable to engage with the interventions being too unwell or feeling a change in the medical condition personal circumstance and that they did not contract a respiratory infection.