I used to pride myself on being the only person in my immediate family to not have any allergies, until I turned ten and discovered that a case of the sniffles, itchy eyes, and non-stop sneezing sessions that start around early spring meant that I had something referred to as “hay fever.” I was quickly swiped off my allergy pedestal and joined the rest of my family, miserable anywhere from a few weeks to months out of the year when the allergens took to the air and into our noses. A remedy for this annoyance may come in a new form of nasal spray that has emerged with a secret ingredient aimed at repelling those allergens and the sweet smell of relief for all who suffer from hay fever: hot peppers.
You would think that stuffing peppers up your nose would not be a good idea, that you would most likely burn your nostrils and your sense of smell would be tainted; you would be correct, as this nose spray acts a bit differently than simply wearing spicy vegetables in your nose. The all-natural nose spray is called Sinol-M and is made with capsaicin, a natural irritant found within the membranes and white pith of chili peppers.
Allergic rhinitis, commonly called hay fever, is a variety of symptoms involving the nose and eyes caused by breathing in allergens such as dust, pollen, or dander. Hay fever is categorized as the type of allergic reaction a person gets when they are specifically allergic to plant pollen. Hay fever is common in early spring when pollen starts to pick up in the air, but it depends on the area you live and which pollen you are allergic to, and for some unlucky people there is the possibility of suffering all year round. Around 50 million Americans suffer annually from nasal allergies.
Researchers at the Institute for Asthma and Allergy in Wheaton, Maryland, as well as scientists at Strategic BioSciences, conducted a double-blind trial testing the success rate of the second-generation capsaicin nose spray against the first-generation product. Working with 24 patients suffering from hay fever symptoms, researchers split them into two groups and instructed them to spray once in each nostril as needed for the first week with either the new formula Sinol-M or the older Sinol, with a usage maximum of 12 sprays per nostril per day. After a dry period of one week between trials, the groups were then instructed to use the other generation of spray that they had not used the first week.
Sinol-M’s formula is derived from Sinol but contains a solution called “mucoadhesive” that helps the spray stay inside the nose longer, leading to less sprays per nostril. Sinol-M also curbs the burning or sting from the peppers associated with other capsaicin-based sprays.
The groups recorded their findings after the period was over with Sinol and Sinol-M acting much the same both significantly relieving nasal symptoms (sneezing, itchy, runny, or stuffy nose) but with one main difference. Sinol-M seemed to reduce the symptoms and therefore the volunteers’ need for use of the product over Sinol, especially at night throughout the week of the trial. The “pepper burn” was also shown to be lessened with Sinol-M.
Dr. Christos Efessiou, CEO of Strategic BioSciences, said in an interview that the findings are a good measure for natural health, “This study proved for the first time that a homeopathic nasal spray containing capsaicin is an effective treatment for allergic rhinitis.”
The results were presented at the 47th annual meeting of the Western Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Maui, Hawaii, in January of 2009. Lead researcher of the Institute of Asthma and Allergy, Dr. Martha White, echoed Dr. Efessiou’s statement when she wrote of the benefits of this new study, “Unlike the prescription nasal steroid sprays, this is an all-natural product that has now been demonstrated to provide clinical benefit and is available without a prescription.”
Now hay fever sufferers everywhere—my family included—can hopefully breathe a sigh of relief that this new nasal spray is available over the counter and relatively inexpensive (a bottle of regular Sinol—since Sinol-M is not yet available—found on the Internet is less than 20 dollars).
Sinol-M should become available in stores throughout the United States this month.
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Health
