Summary
In 13,799 UK adults with acute respiratory illness, advice to use a gel-based or a saline nasal spray shortened illness compared with usual care, and all arms reduced antibiotic use. The gel spray caused more headache and sinus pain, and the behavioral website alone did not shorten illness.
Key points
- Design: Open-label, randomized, parallel-group trial in primary care. Open label, so symptom reporting could be biased.
- Funding: NIHR (public). No industry funding noted in the abstract.
- Added from the October 2026 literature sweep, from the abstract; curators to check against the full text.