Teresa Cruz firmly removed her
four-year-old son Tonio's finger from his nose, apologized
as she did so and explained that Tonio's nose just gets
so stuffy during the pollen season. Believe it or not,
Teresa may one day be encouraging her son to stick his
fingers up his nose. That's because smearing a pollen-blocking
cream on the inside of the nose may one day help hay fever
sufferers avoid the sneezing, itching, nasal waterworks
and congestion that accompanies allergic rhinitis. The
cream traps pollen particles, dust, mites and the scurf
from the family pooch that can trigger a reaction.
Dr Swetlana Schwetz of the Federal
Scientific Research Center in Moscow and colleagues
investigated the nose-blocking power of Alergol ? a
cream commercially available in Europe. The petroleum-based
ointment keeps nasal passages clear by physically blocking
particles that are trying to hitchhike in with the air.
The study was sponsored by the
makers of Alergol and was published in the August issue
of The Archives of Otolaryngology ? Head & Neck
Surgery. It ran from the winter of 2001 to the autumn
of 2002 ? the time of year that includes the peak spring
and summer months of pollen production. Ninety-one patients
aged 18 to 55 from outpatient centres in Germany and
Russia who had experienced allergic rhinitis, either
seasonally or year long, for at least two years were
included. Forty-three subjects received the pollen-blocking
cream while 48 people received a placebo of carboxymethylcellulose
gel. The goo was lightly rubbed on the inside of the
nostrils four times a day for nine days.
On the first, second and fifth
days, patients were subjected to a "nasal provocation
test," where the volunteers wore face masks and inhaled
pollen, house dust and other particles. The allergen
concentration was increased until an allergic reaction
occurred. Symptoms were rated on a four-point scale,
with four being the worst. As well, the airflow rate
was measured, since the allergy-induced inflammation
of the nasal mucous membranes tended to reduce the size
of the nasal passages.
How did sufferers rate the cream?
They gave it two thumbs up. The median symptom score
dropped from four to one for those using the cream,
but only from four to three in the placebo group. And
airflow increased some 20% when using the real stuff,
compared with 10% when using the placebo.
The blocker reduced the occurrence
of symptoms of allergic rhinitis by nearly 60% compared
with a reduction of 25% using the placebo. "This objective
assessment clearly demonstrated that ... pollen-blocker
cream is a safe and effective alternative to the drugs
normally prescribed for allergic rhinitis in conventional
medicine," concluded the researchers.
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