Unforeseeable harm when gargling salt water incorrectly

Many people with infections, coughs and sore throats often have the habit of holding salt in their mouths or gargling with very salty water. However, doctors warn that this habit is extremely harmful.

Consider salt as a "panacea"

Ms. Vu Thi Hoa, residing in Ha Dong, Hanoi, said that she gargles with salt water almost every day to clean her mouth and prevent nose and throat diseases.

She mixed salt water herself with a high salt concentration because she thought the saltier it was, the more bacteria would die. However, recently, her throat suddenly became red and swollen. She gargles as usual and holds salt in her mouth, but the condition does not improve. In fact, the ulcers get bigger and cause a sore throat.

Mrs. Hoa had a nasopharyngoscopy, the doctor diagnosed her with a sore throat and performed a biopsy because he suspected the ulcer could be cancerous. After a week of biopsy, fortunately the result was just normal inflammation.

Jeopardize

Discussing this issue, Master, infectious disease doctor Nguyen Danh Duc said that every day he meets many patients with diseases related to the nose and throat, especially during the current change of seasons.

Many patients have the habit of gargling with salt water, using homemade salt water because they think the saltier it is, the better it works.

Master Duc said that this is a really dangerous way of doing things, because the accumulation of salt causes excess salt in the body, thereby causing cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure and limited calcium absorption.

Besides, the immediate harm is that when salt enters the mouth and throat, it will damage and erode the cells of the throat mucosa, causing pharyngitis, and when exposed to bacteria, it will easily cause infection.

Not everyone knows how to mix salt water properly to gargle effectively.

Master Duc said that changing weather is a favorable environment for bacteria to attack the respiratory tract. Many people feel itchy throat or have to cough, clear their throat, and when examined, the side of the throat is slightly red and sore.

Rinsing the nose, gargling, and rinsing the throat with saline solution to prevent bacterial attacks has been recommended by many experts and is applied by many people.

However, not everyone knows how to use salt water properly.

According to Master Duc, when gargling, we should pay attention to the time of gargling and gargling before gargling. That is, we gargle for about 5 minutes, not just gargling and then spitting out, and it is best to gargle with light salt water that is only a little saltier than soup.

Specifically, Master Duc instructs that when cleaning the throat, you should first rinse your mouth with salt water for about 30 seconds to remove bacteria in the mouth. If you feel that your mouth is not completely clean, do it one more time before rinsing your throat.

When gargling, tilt your head back. When the salt water touches the back of your throat, use your breath to push the salt water out, making a steady "wheezing" sound for 3-4 minutes. Spit out the old water and repeat the above action 3-4 times with new salt water, until your throat no longer feels clogged.

After rinsing your mouth and throat with diluted salt water, you should rinse your mouth again with clean water to wash away all the salt and plaque that came off when rinsing your mouth with salt water.

In addition, Master Duc also said that we should use physiological saline solution that has been mixed with a certain concentration. If we mix the water ourselves, we can apply the following mixing ratio: 1 liter of boiled water to cool mixed with 9g of salt to have a concentration of 0.9%.

In cases of acute pharyngitis, treatment should be prompt and complete to avoid complications into chronic pharyngitis (granular pharyngitis), which causes difficulty in later treatment and greatly affects your health.

According to Gia dinh.net