For parents, the cycle of coughing and snot affecting their young children can often seem endless.
But simple saline nose drops can reduce the duration of the common cold in children by two days and reduce transmission, a study has found.
The researchers had observed that saltwater solutions are often used to treat colds in South Asia and wanted to explore whether this benefit could be replicated in a large study.
A team from the University of Edinburgh recruited 407 children up to six years old.
In total, 301 people caught a cold, of whom 150 received drops (consisting of a mixture of salt and water) and the rest were given medications such as paracetamol and ibuprofen.
Simple saline nose drops can reduce the duration of the common cold in children by two days and reduce transmission, a study has found.
A team from the University of Edinburgh (pictured) recruited 407 children aged up to six. In total, 301 were given colds, 150 were given drops (consisting of a mixture of salt and water) and the rest were given drugs such as paracetamol and ibuprofen.
Parents were instructed to administer three drops per nostril a minimum of four times daily.
The study, presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Vienna, Austria, found that those who used the drops had symptoms for six days, while others were sick for eight days.
And fewer family members caught a cold: 46 percent, compared with 61 percent.
Professor Steve Cunningham, one of the authors of the study, said the chloride found in salt is used by cells lining the nose and trachea to produce hypochlorous acid, which the cells then use to defend against viral infection.