These are troubling times, and we all need to do what we can to limit exposure and transmission of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. Sinus irrigations involve rinsing the inside of one’s nose with saline (salt + water), via a squeeze bottle or Neti-Pot, and may entail addition of other topical steroids or antibiotics as well. These bottles are not sterile, and can become colonized or contaminated by bacteria and viruses, and therefore could be a reservoir for infectious organisms, potentially the coronavirus. While it may seem intuitive to outright stop all use of sinus rinsing during these times, some patients rely on these irrigations to prevent recurrence of their severe allergic rhinitis or sinusitis. Granted, plenty of patients could afford to stop their irrigations for some time, some truly have types of diseases that will recur without the use of their irrigations. Therefore, in patients who wish to continue their sinus irrigations, I have provided some steps for appropriately disinfecting their rinse bottles, from the time of mixing the saline solution, to cleaning and disinfecting after irrigations have been completed. Hopefully this helps people, and lastly, please do what you can to prevent spread of the coronavirus. Ideally, in a month or 2 this is past us. Be safe!
Disinfecting Sinus Rinse Bottles and Coronavirus
These are troubling times, and we all need to do what we can to limit exposure and transmission of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. Sinus irrigations involve rinsing the inside of one’s nose with saline (salt + water), via a squeeze…