Effect of exercise on nasal mucous velocity and nasal airflow resistance in normal subjects.

Nasal mucous velocity and nasal airflow resistance were measured in nine healthy subjects before, during 5 min, and 1 h after submaximal exercise of 20 min with a cycle ergometer set in such a way that heart rate ranged from 125 to 135 beats/min. Nasal mucous velocity rose from a base line of 7.6-12.7 mm/min during exercise and returned to the base-line value 5 and 60 min after exercise. The mean expiratory nasal airflow resistance at a flow of 0.4 l/s decreased from a base line of 1.6-0.6 cmH2O . (l/s)-1 during exercise and returned to the baseline value 5 and 60 min after exercise.

Effects of drinking hot water, cold water, and chicken soup on nasal mucus velocity and nasal airflow resistance.

Nasal mucus velocity and nasal airflow resistance were measured in 15 healthy subjects before and at 5 and 30 minutes after drinking hot water by sip or straw, hot chicken soup by sip or straw, and cold water by sip. A sham drinking procedure with straw was also employed. Hot water by sip increased nasal mucus velocity from 6.2 to 8.4 mm per min, hot chicken soup by sip from 6.9 to 9.2 mm per min, and chicken soup by straw from 6.4 to 7.8 mm per min five minutes after administration. These increases were statistically significant compared to cold water, hot water by straw and sham. All values returned to their baseline at 30 minutes except cold water which significantly decreased the nasal mucus velocity from 7.3 to 4.5 mm per min. There were no significant changes from baseline in nasal airflow resistance 5 and 30 minutes following the above treatments. We conclude that drinking hot fluids transiently increases nasal mucus velocity in part or totally through the nasal inhalation of water vapor. Hot chicken soup, either through the aroma sensed at the posterior nares or through a mechanism related to taste, appears to possess an additional substance for increasing nasal mucus velocity. Finally, hot liquid might be superior to cold liquids in the management of fluids in upper respiratory tract infections.

The effect of nasal decongestant on nasal mucous velocity.

Nasal mucous velocity was measured in 13 healthy nonsmokers before and 10 min after topical application of 2 alpha adrenergic nasal decongestant sprays, phenylephrine and tetrahydrozoline. Phenylephrine increased nasal mucous velocity from 8.4 +/- 2.7 mm per min (mean +/- SD) to 13.7 +/- 4.8 mm per min and tetrahydrozoline from 8.1 +/- 3.8 mm per min (mean +/- SD) to 13.8 +/- 5.1 mm per min. These increases were significant (P less than 0.01) when compared to topical application of phenylephrine and tetrahydrozoline vehicles, normal saline, and sham (empty aerosol container).

A roentgenographic method for measuring nasal mucous velocity.

Nasal mucous velocity was estimated by following the motion of radiopaque discs of Teflon by means of a fluoroscopic image intensifier. From 5 to 10 discs were deposited on the superior surface of the inferior turbinate with a forceps. No local anesthesia was employed and the subjects experienced no discomfort. The linear velocity of the discs was obtained by playing the videotape onto a television monitor, measuring distance with a ruler, and dividing by elapsed time. Duplicate runs of 1-2 min, 15 min apart were very reproducible but runs at 4-h intervals or daily over a 5-day period had a coefficient of variation of 30%. Average nasal velocity for individual ranged from 0 to 22.5 mm/min and group means ranged from 6. 8 to 10.8 mm/min. There was no statistically significant difference in nasal mucous velocity between young and elderly subjects nor was there a sexual difference. The saccharin test of nasal mucous transport was unsatisfactory because of inability to repeat the test more often than 1-2 h and its propensity to produce mild discomfort in a significant number of subjects. Saccharin times did not correlate significantly with values of nasal mucous velocity.