👃🏽💦 Nasal sprays are an under-used but highly effective layer to include in your covid-safety strategy! 👃🏿 Here's a thread on 4 really effective ones:
No. 1: Carrageenan Nasal Spray - with an 80% relative risk reduction, this nasal spray is one of the best I've found.
No. 2: Hypromellose Spray - this one is a close second at 78% relative risk reduction. Also pretty affordable!
No. 3: Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) - this one is widely-used with a 75% relative risk reduction. With the higher price, though, you're probably better off with Carrageenan or Hypromellose sprays!
No. 4: Xylitol - this spray is the most affordable, but it has a lower risk reduction than the others at 62%. Still *way* better than nothing though!
How to use: each spray has slightly different instructions. In general, though, you spray before and after a potential covid exposure in order to reduce the chances of infection. You can also use it repeatedly throughout the day(s) after a potential exposure.
Some things to consider: take a look at the ingredients lists, studies, and safety profiles to make a decision for yourself about whether to incorporate this into a multi-layered covid strategy. These sprays are not just saline solution!
Some of these sprays are manufactured in Israel. There is conflicting information online, and apparent disagreement within the movement itself, regarding whether purchasing medical goods produced in Israel (and nowhere else) is in violation of the BDS boycott.
Nasal irrigation is one of the cheapest covid precautions you can add to your routine! 🧵
💧Nasal rinsing is the process of rinsing a saline solution through your nasal passages to clear out mucus, debris, and allergens. It also reduces the chances you'll become infected when exposed & reduces illness severity and duration if you're infected. (citations in 🧵)
There are great studies backing up nasal irrigation (rooted in the ancient practice of Jala Neti)
Please treat this as a recommendation of many layers to consider, and remember that any single layer is better than none. The most important layer here, masks, can be achieved for under $5!
Links to recommended gear will be at the very end of the thread
🥈 At a close 2nd place, the Metrix molecular test has an impressive 96.7% test sensitivity and a much cheaper startup cost (though this is negated over time by the more expensive tests). Also a really good system to get.