It’s been flu and norovirus season for quite a while and in the city office, as well as in my jr. high school, signs are posted everywhere with information about the symptoms of both diseases, as well as tips on how to prevent their transmission. Face masks and regular hand washing (including but not solely after using the WC!) I can certainly understand, but they also advocate regular gargling, a prophylaxis I have never encountered.
Regular gargling, in this case, consists of two separate swishes throughout the whole mouth, at least 20 seconds each, followed by two noisy-as-possible, back-of-the-throat gargles, also 20 seconds each. At least, that’s what the poster in front of the nurse’s station suggests. Everyone seems to follow it pretty close to the letter, too. I hear a lot of my coworkers announcing, “I’m going to go gargle, be right back.” I’ve decided to join in, not wanting to feel left out of all the fun.
I haven’t caught the flu all year, even though we had a mild epidemic knock out a couple entire classes in some of the nearby elementary schools. But, then again, I seldom ever get sick, so I’m not ready to attribute it to the magic gargle.
A quick search on the internet just brings up some sites recommending gargling with brine for sore throat relief. And at least one site that says something akin to “Ancient Chinese Secret” (‘My husband, some hot shot! ;)’).
What’s the straight dope, SDMB? Is gargling with water really doing anything at all[sup]*[/sup] in the war on viruses?
[sup]*[/sup]By that I mean anything significantly effective, of course.
Missed the sassin’-frassin’ edit window, but I wanted to add that this certainly isn’t the first time I’ve encountered this advice in Japan. Posters for it were prominently displayed all over the campuses of Daitodai in both Saitama and Tokyo, as well as in Okayama and Kyoto. It’s no doubt national. But if it is so effective, I cannot imagine why I had never heard the recommendation before moving to Japan.
I am not a doctor, but I can add this: back when I was young, in the 70s and before, Listerine used to advertise itself as a way of preventing colds. Used daily, it was supposed to “kill the germs” that caused colds and flues. The US government made them stop advertising this way as there were no studies indicating the efficacy of Listerine as a virus deterrent.
My understanding (anecdotal, haven’t looked for a cite) is that it’s now known that most all cold/flu/sinus infections start in the back of the throat somewhere. Hypothetically, if one were to gargle vigorously and often, you’d constantly be killing off the nasties that cause cold/flu/sinus infections.
Dunno hold this holds up experimentally, but I hear a lot more now about gargling to prevent cold/flu/sinus infections than I did as a kid. My mother-in-law even gargles with diluted hydrogen peroxide when she feel something coming on.
EDIT: Oh – I didn’t realize the OP was about gargling with water. My response assumes gargling with antiseptic mouthwash.
Slightly off-topic perhaps but there’s a product called Vicks First Defence that makes the claim that it can reduce the chance of a cold developing if administered after early symptoms (it’s a nasal spray).
So, the principle of removing the virus when it’s in the early stages of inhabiting the respiratory system must have some experimental support.
I remember going into a chemist looking for this product, and not remembering what it was called. When I described it, the girl at the counter looked at me like I was a nutter, like I was asking for the cure for the common cold.
Thanks for the responses all. Especially you, Qadgop, I’ve always respected your pharmacological/medical opinions. It’s nice to see a study on the subject, but it is unfortunate that the study is so brief and inconclusive. It seems to me that they basically came to the same conclusion I have. Namely, that gargling may have had some effect, but it is hard to say how much of that was gargling and how much was dumb luck, considering so few people from any of the groups actually became ill.
I’ll definitely have to poke around to see if I can find any other studies on the subject, but I’m a little more convinced that this “very common hygienic practice” is another one of those well-accepted but generally scientifically-unfounded disease-prevention factoids.
Mijin: I’ve heard of Vick’s First Defence, but I’ve never tried it. I really don’t like the feel of nasal sprays at all and the studies I’ve seen haven’t convinced me that it is much better than any other cold remedy.
And, bordelond and Khadaji, the practice here seems to be gargling with plain water. JHowever, some people add medicine to their water when gargling. Two years ago, when I came down with a really nasty cold, the doctor prescribed me a bottle of povidone-iodine solution to gargle with. I don’t know if it actually did anything, but I can say that it tasted terrible.
mijin: I’m sure parsing sentences incorrectly can occasionally be funny, too.
I remember reading a study years ago that iodine-impregnated tissues drastically shortened the life of colds and made sure that they spread less as well. However, they had the negative side-effect of turning your nose brown and people wouldn’t use them. (alas, I could not find a study to quote.)
Oops, meant to write don’t ask! Had the capitalization correct, but the letters were all wrong. :smack:
I can see how iodine-soaked tissues might prevent the spread of colds by acting as a regular disinfectant, as well as sanitizing the waste tissues to some extent. The study Qadgop linked to seems to posit that gargling the stuff is less effective.
My father once got an accidental lungful of chlorine gas. It took out an oncoming cold. From his description of the event, though, I doubt if anyone would ever market it. It was painful. And dangerous.
It also took out his body’s scent. My mother kept waking up all night long, sure that there was a stranger in bed with her.
My doctor recommends that at the first sign of a sore throat that I breathe in steam from boiling water because it is hotter than a virus can survive at. This works well in my experience. Oh, and doc also suggests a saline rinse of the sinuses.
It’s worth noting that this study is about influenza-like illnesses. A prior study by the same authors showed that gargling with water likely reduced the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections. In other words, it looks like it does help with the common cold.