An injection of carbon dioxide into the nose may carry some speedy relief to people having nasal allergies, though relief may be short-lived, suggests a first round of study. The therapy called intranasal carbon dioxide is not hitherto an approved treatment for nasal allergies.
In the new study, researchers from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska conscripted three hundred and fifty adults suffering year-round nasal allergies from to irritants such as dust, mold or pet dander. The study participants were arbitrarily allocated to have either one dose of CO2, delivered through nosepiece attached to CO2 cylinder to take placebo treatment.
Participants, who receiving the actual treatment were further divided into groups such as receiving either lower or higher dose of CO2 for ten seconds or more, about thirty minutes later one of the CO2 groups, which is getting the higher dose for ten seconds, informed bigger improvement in nasal congestion, sneezing, itching and watery eyes.
The benefit of CO2 lasted for four hours and the improvement in degree of symptoms was analogous to seen with standard treatments such as antihistamine nasal sprays. There are still a lot of people who do not like to take medication and might view this as a natural treatment, explained study author Dr. Thomas B. Casale.
If approved, intranasal CO2 could offer an alternative treatment to people suffering seasonal or year-round nasal allergies, stated Dr Casale. The prescription of sprays with anti-inflammatory corticosteroids those are taken regularly is considered the most effective treatment for nasal allergies. But some people are reluctant to use steroids, even their low doses are often considered safe.
Dr Casale also indicated that a benefit CO2 can have over antihistamine treatments and corticosteroids is that it works quickly. Therefore the therapy might best fit into the nasal-allergy armament as an infrequent as required to fix. But that is still in preliminary stage. It also remains uncertain why intranasal CO2 would be helpful against allergy symptoms.
In addition to nasal steroids and antihistamines, some other nasal allergy treatments like nasal washes that remove allergens from the nostrils. Allergy shots may be recommended for specific allergies that do not improve with drugs. The study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.