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What is Xlear Nasal Wash?
Xlear Nasal Wash is a nasal spray containing a saline solution with the sugar Xylitol, a natural substance found in many foods and made by cells in the human body. Xylitol sugar has an interesting property that makes the mucous membranes in the body like “teflon”. Nothing can stick to them. Germs can’t hold on to areas within the nose, throat, and sinuses to propagate. Bacteria ‘slide off’ the membranes and are rinsed harmlessly out of the body, sometimes without even activating a major immune response. The more quickly it is used when symptoms first occur, the more effective it is against both bacterial and viral attackers. It's like soap for your nose!
Xylitol is used commercially to sweeten many gums. Many countries encourage the use of Xylitol in gum because it reduces tooth decay by preventing the clinging and decaying action of mouth bacteria.
Finnish physicians have done excellent studies showing that:
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chewing eight (8) sticks of this gum every day has reduced ear infections in children by 40%.
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a 5% solution of xylitol on cells from the nose, releases the attachment of more than half of
the bacteria that are the major cause of respiratory infections.
Attachment is what infection is all about. If bacteria aren't attached, there can be no infection. When you wash your hands, you wash away bacteria. Xlear Nasal Wash provides the same protection for the membranes in the nose.
Normally even chronic sinus problems in adults can be flushed out and then controlled in adults by two sprays in each nostril twice daily. If a person has symptoms of congestion, Xlear can be used more frequently, like every fifteen minutes, until the congestion clears.
Children in daycare, who are more prone to ear infections, or those who have had recurrent ear infections, should have their noses sprayed before every diaper change. Daycare providers and teachers working with small children may be constantly exposed to bacteria and should use Xlear more often. Maintenance use for wellness should be:
Children: 1 spray each nostril 3 times per day.
Adults: 1 spray each nostril 2 times per day.
Using the spray works best with the head tilted forward and the spray aimed to the back, not up, the nose.
NOTE:
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When held upright, the bottle makes a spray.
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When held horizontally, the bottle makes a stream (not recommended).
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And when tipped upside down, the bottle can be used for drops.
Remember: Putting drops of anything in BOTH
tiny nostrils of
a child at once can block breathing. Do one nostril at a time.
If a child fights the spray, using a few drops is O.K. Make sure the child remains lying down for several seconds after putting drops in their nose so the solution can drain to the back of the nose where problems are more commonly located.
Two sprays in each nostril twice daily gives about 40 mg of xylitol. That is:
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about 210 times less than used in the Finnish study
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about 250 times less than the average person’s body makes daily
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over 1000 times less than the safe IV dose
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less than a tenth of the Xylitol in an average-sized plum and more than double
the concentration found to release the harmful, infection-causing, bacteria.
Xylitol and Upper Respiratory Infections
Uhari M, Kontiokari T, Koskela M, Niemela M. Xylitol chewing gum in prevention of acute otitis media: double blind randomised trial. BMJ 1996 Nov 9;313(7066):1180-4. (Department of pediatrics, University of Oulu, Finland.)
Xylitol and Adherence of Nasal Bacteria
Kontiokari T, Uhari M, Koskela M. Antiadhesive effects of xylitol on otopathogenic bacteria. J Antimicrob Chemother 1998 May;41(5):563-5. (Department of pediatrics, University of Oulu, Finland.)
That Amazing Xylitol (Pronunciation: 'zi-le-tol, starts like
Xylophone)
Chewing gum, mints, sweetening crystals, and toothpaste that protect your teeth.
Dr. Lon Jones, Inventor of Xlear Nasal Wash
The following excerpts are by Dr. Lon Jones, the inventor of Xylitol nasal spray, explaining why and how Xlear Nasal Wash works and his concepts of “common sense medicine”:
This site (Dr. Lon Jones' web site) began in the attempt to tell people about how xylitol in a nasal spray helps to wash the nose of the pollution and bacteria that have increasingly populated that area due to factors that I describe.
As things progressed I realized that many of our current medical treatments actually block normal defensive mechanisms that we have developed in our evolution, that still have a clear purpose and an evolutionary benefit.
Contemporary biologists that talk about this are calling it "Darwinian medicine," but I prefer the term "Commonsense Medicine"―once we see what the body is trying to do, it is common sense.
The questions we ask are important because they limit our answers. It seems to me that the main question asked in current medical practice is, "How can I treat this condition?"
In order to treat the condition, we ask a lot of other questions that help us to analyze the process and find ways to modify or block it with drugs. Unfortunately, many of these processes that we are able to shut down are normal and defensive. And shutting down these processes is not a good idea nor is it common sense once we see what is happening.
So in the broader scope the purpose of this page is to:
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make us all more aware of the wisdom of our bodies.
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help us all to ask ourselves, and our physicians, "What is the advantage of this symptom?" before we turn it off.
About Dr. Jones
Prior to going to medical school, I got a Master's degree in History with a focus on the History of Science and Ideas. I think that the perspective obtained in the study of history has stayed with me. I chose Family Medicine because it includes the widest range of practice. While specialists are very good at treating specific conditions, I think their limited focus leads them to occasionally miss the forest.
I have written, and continue to write, articles in the medical and lay literature about ‘common sense medicine’, as well as the specifics on my use of xylitol in a nasal spray. I have also presented these ideas, as well as my own experienc with regular use of this spray on patients in my practice, at many medical seminars.
Articles by Dr. Lon Jones:
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The next step in infectious disease: taming bacteria. Medical Hypotheses (2002)
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Why the Increases in Upper Respiratory Problems? Medical Hypotheses (2001) 57(3);378-381.
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Intranasal Xylitol, Recurrent Otitis Media, and Asthma: Report of Three Cases. Clinical Practice of Alternative Medicine (2001) 2(2);112-17.