Inhalation, aerosol and nasal douches
In daily clinical practice, infectious-inflammatory diseases of the high, middle and lower airways are frequent. This medical condition is defined sinuso-rhino-bronchial syndrome.
If in the acute phase the pharmacological therapeutic approach is certainly useful, inhalation therapy provides excellent results in chronic and relapsing-level rhino-sinus forms, and in the tracheo-bronchial and bronchiolar-alveolar parts.
The techniques used are:
- Hot and humid Inhalation
- Aerosol
- Nasal douche
The inhalation treatments
The warm-moist inhalation is no other than thermal water fragmented into small particles (of about 100 microns size) with a temperature around 38 ° C, with gaseous elements being released during the fragmentation process of the water. Patients stay in front of the dispenser, at a distance of about 20-25 cm, trying to breathe the vapor with nose and mouth, for about 12 minutes. Inhaled particles, due to their size, tend to settle mainly on the mucous membranes of medium-sized airways (pharynx, larynx, trachea and main bronchi). Heat helps any deposits catarrhal to loose, reactivating local blood circulation.
Aerosol is characterized by a finer and more homogeneous fractionation of thermal water (droplets between 2 and 5 microns diameter) ensuring a better deposit both at the level of the first airways than in the bronchial tree. The temperature of the inhaled aerosol is the same of the source water’s temperature.
Depending on the pathology and at the discretion of the physician, aerosol can be delivered via mask or nasal prong. The duration is approximately 12 minutes long. The nasal wash is instead characterized by a jet of thermal water droplets at intense pressure adjustable according to individual tolerability.
This treatment is specific to the paranasal sinus cavities and to clean up the tubal ostia in an indirect way, often responsible for rhinogenic deafness and childhood catarrhal otitis.
Mechanism of Action
The bicarbonate-alkaline thermal water deposited on the mucous membranes exerts a protective effect first of all, facilitates the cleaning action of the mucus-ciliated cells and strengthens the nonspecific mucosa-associated (MALT) immune system. As a result you may notice an increase in sputum / phlegm during rhino-bronchial inhalation treatment.
This water exerts an anti-inflammatory and anti-edema action with consequent reduction of internal mucous membranes volume and glands associated with them.
For this reason this therapy is useful for the management of adenoid / tonsil hypertrophy typical of childhood, and of the turbinates, frequent in adulthood. It prevents and slows down the formation of polyps in nasal mucosa and vocal cords. Also, the right level of humidification and water content of the mucosa is reset. However, once completed the course of therapy, maintaining hydration of the mucous membranes drinking at least 1.5 liters of water throughout the day, preferably between meals and in small sips, is very important.