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What
Is Breathe-ease® XL ? Each package
contains: What is Breathe-ease®
XL used for? The nose is supposed to moisten inhaled air, helping to maintain a moist environment for the cilia in the sinuses. These cilia are the body's first line of defense against infection. The moist, mucous environment also forms a pathway for the good white cells to reach the bad bacteria that may attempt to infect the body through inhalation. Any dryness, itching, or crusting in the nose means that a moisturizer is needed for the nose to do it's job. Saline had always been considered the most common, safe, and simple such moisturizer. Today we know that the preservatives that must be added to insure a long long shelf life can be harmful or irritating to the nose, especially when the nose is irritated already . Here is a partial list of the additives found in saline nasal sprays:
It is important to avoid any of these preservatives that might irritate an already sore nose. So Breathe-ease® XL was developed as a means of providing a solution for the dry irritated nose. However, the purpose of a saline type spray is to restore normal cilia function. Professor Wilbert M Boek of University Hospital, Utrecht reported that solutions containing potassium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and salt were much better for restoring nasal/sinus cilia than those without these ingredients. Breathe-ease®XL is a formula designed to restore cilia function and avoid the use of some of the preservatives that can harm the delicate nasal membranes. Breathe-ease® XL is especially designed for use by the child. The incidence of children with sinusitis is increasing at an alarming rate. Many of these children could be helped by regular use of moisturizer solution. Breathe-ease® XL is for kids: No
preservative to burn For use
with the Hydro Pulse® Nasal / Sinus Irrigation System or Water Pik™
Style Irrigator
For Moisturizing
Spray For kids
or adults with colored discharge: 3 to 4x a day. Costs Calibrated
Measurement Isotonic or
Hypertonic Saline - Which is best for you? Warm
Saline Fresh Benzalkonium These additive problems are so important that the Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation gives special training to doctors on this subject. This training emphasizes that if you are allergic or have an infection, the additives can be more irritating than when you are "normal". Recent articles on the negative effects of Benzalkonium include:
References: Physiologic and hypertonic saline solutions impair ciliary
activity in vitro. Boek WM. Laryngoscope, 109(3):396-9 1999
Mar Benzalkonium chloride in a decongestant nasal spray
aggravates rhinitis medicamentosa in healthy volunteers. Clin Exp
Allergy.1995; 25:957-965 Effects
of topical nasal steroids on human respiratory mucosa and human
granulocytes in vitro. SteinsvĀ”ag S. Acta Otolaryngol (Stockh),
116(6):868-75 1996 Effect
of topical corticosteroids and topical antihistaminics on ciliary
epithelium of human nasal mucosa in vitro. Hofmann T. HNO, 46(2):146-51
1998 Feb The
effects of topical nasal steroids on rat respiratory mucosa in vivo, with
special reference to benzalkonium chloride. Berg OH. Allergy, 52(6):627-32
1997 Jun A
clinical trial of hypertonic saline nasal spray in subjects with the
common cold or rhinosinusitis. Adam P. Arch Fam Med, 7(1):39-43 1998
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Currently there are several products on the market that use hypertonic saline to spray in the nose. What is hypertonic? In the body, there are chambers of fluid, mostly salt containing. When you are dehydrated in the hospital, they used to give you isotonic solution. Iso means equal. This refers to the fact that it is perfectly balanced, and exactly right for your body. The way the body works, there is a barrier like a cellophane between fluid systems. If both sides have the same concentration of salt, then no fluid is passed through this membrane, called a semi permeable membrane. When you want to put liquid into one area, you increase the amount of salt. This then becomes hypertonic - hyper meaning excess or increased. The fluid will flow through the membrane until both sides are equal in salt concentration. The fluid goes to the higher salt level. Hypertonic means less salt. If one side is hypertonic, the fluid will go from that side to the hypertonic side. This is the reason why persons with heart conditions limit their salt intake. Less salt means the body holds less fluids. If a heart patient takes hypertonic, his fluid in the body will increase resulting in swollen legs. Thus if a person drowns in a fresh water pond, the water will be sucked into his lungs because the osmotic pressure is higher in the lungs. If he drowns in an ocean, which is hypertonic, the water will be sucked out of his lungs. There has been some literature claiming that hypertonic saline is of value when the membranes of the nose are extremely swollen. That is the principle behind the hypertonic products. Exactly what effect these hypertonic solutions have on nasal function is still being investigated. If you wish to try a hypertonic nasal solution, there are distinct advantages to using our Breathe-ease®XL solution. You start with a product, a modified Ringer's solution, which all hospitals now use for intravenous solution instead of saline. Numerous articles show that this solution is best for restoring nasal function. Breathe-ease®XL is free of preservatives, especially Benzalkonium, known to impair cilia function. When used in the nasal spray it may give a burning sensation. Best of all, Breathe-ease®XL made hypertonic is much less expensive than the leading hypertonic solutions. When you make Breathe-ease®XL for spray, from a standard 190 gm bottle you can make 20 pints or 9,460 ounces of a 2x hypertonic solution. Or you can make it 3x hypertonic and make 14 pints or 3,890 ounces. Compare this to the size of the other leading hypertonic solutions. A 190gm bottle of Breathe-ease®XL will make up to 320 oz. of hypertonic saline equivalent to 40 single use bottles of the 8oz hypertonic solutions marketed by other manufacturers. Using Breathe.ease®XL in this manner allows our customers to adjust the concentration of the solution to meet their individual needs and comfort level - instead of a one size fits all mixture that may not be right for you. The purpose of any spray or irrigation is to get the nose healthy. If regular isotonic Breathe.ease®XL works - 1/4 teaspoon to four ounces, fine. You can use one ounce at a time and store the 3 ounces in the refrigerator and change it once a week - there is no preservative.
Again you may decide that the isotonic strength is best for you, so you don't need to buy anything else, just mix a fresh batch. Or you may decide on 2x hypertonic. Whichever you use this week, you can change it next week. Most important, you don't need to worry about preservatives. The ability to change concentration without the need to buy a new product is very important. For example if your nose is dry, the hypertonic can make the nose drier by taking liquid out. Here isotonic is much better, especially the Breathe.ease®XL formula. If the nose is very swollen, you may find the hypertonic works best for you. But you can always start with isotonic and move slowly into hypertonic. Some persons find that hypertonic too strong and must cut back. There is no one size that fits everyone all the time. Each Breathe-ease®XL
package contains: References: Physiologic and hypertonic saline solutions impair ciliary
activity in vitro. Boek WM. Laryngoscope, 109(3):396-9 1999
Mar Benzalkonium chloride in a decongestant nasal spray
aggravates rhinitis medicamentosa in healthy volunteers. Clin Exp
Allergy.1995; 25:957-965 Effects
of topical nasal steroids on human respiratory mucosa and human
granulocytes in vitro. Steinsv”ag S. Acta Otolaryngol (Stockh),
116(6):868-75 1996 Effect
of topical corticosteroids and topical antihistaminics on ciliary
epithelium of human nasal mucosa in vitro. Hofmann T. HNO, 46(2):146-51
1998 Feb The
effects of topical nasal steroids on rat respiratory mucosa in vivo, with
special reference to benzalkonium chloride. Berg OH. Allergy, 52(6):627-32
1997 Jun A clinical
trial of hypertonic saline nasal spray in subjects with the common cold
or rhinosinusitis. Adam P. Arch Fam Med, 7(1):39-43 1998 Jan-Feb
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