A chilly blast up your nose to stop it running

FIRING laughing gas up the nose could be a radical new treatment for those with blocked and runny noses. ice-cold nitrous oxide gas is delivered through a balloon on the end of a blow torch-like device.

The treatment destroys tissue that produces symptoms such as sneezing, nasal itching and congestion.

Rhinitis, which affects more than one in five people in the Uk, is inflammation of the inside of the nose.

it can be caused by an allergy or by swollen blood vessels. This swelling blocks the nasal passages and also stimulates the glands in the nose to produce mucus, resulting in a blocked or runny nose.

Treatments for chronic rhinitis usually include nasal sprays that contain steroids. in more severe cases patients may need surgery.

The new treatment, which freezes the nasal passages, could be a fast-acting and potentially safer alternative. it uses cryotherapy, a technique where freezing is harnessed to destroy unwanted tissue.

inhaled forms of nitrous oxide are used in surgery as a form of anaesthesia. With the new treatment the gas is ‘chilled’.

The device, known as ClariFix, has a handle with a small canister of liquid nitrous oxide attached at one end, and a long probe with a balloon inside at the other.

THE probe is inserted into the nose and the doctor then presses a trigger on the handle. This causes a change in pressure and makes the nitrous oxide partially evaporate and rapidly cool as it moves and enters the balloon.

The result is an ice-cold ball in the balloon at the end of the ClariFix device. This ball is held against the tissue, causing it to shrink and die. Doctors can continue to press the trigger to destroy as much tissue as needed. a typical session takes 30 minutes but it can be repeated if necessary.

Results from a 27-patient study by the maker, U.S.-based company arrinex, demonstrated that the treatment was safe and led to a 60 per cent improvement in symptoms. More trials are under way in the U.S. and new Zealand, where patients will receive one or two treatments in each nostril and have their symptoms monitored for three months.

‘There are various techniques for reducing swelling inside the nose in chronic rhinitis that fail to respond to medical therapy,’ says Professor Jaydip Ray, a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at the Sheffield Teaching hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.

‘This is an interesting concept which is quick and easy to deliver and appears to be less intrusive than some of the other techniques. The initial results are very encouraging indeed,’ he says.

MEANWHILE a chilli spray could also help tackle rhinitis.

Researchers at the University hospitals Leuven in Belgium gave rhinitis patients a nasal spray which contains capsaicin, the active ingredient in chilli peppers, to use daily for three months.

Results published in the journal allergy showed that 68 to 79 per cent of patients benefited and 32 per cent had a major reduction in symptoms.

it is thought that capsaicin triggers a unique reaction in the nerves where after an initial inflammatory response, they stop reacting to any stimuli. This in turn relieves rhinitis symptoms.