Awareness Antibiotics in the Top 10 for Drug Errors @ (NAPSA)—According to a recent study of drug errors, an estimated 23 million antibiotic prescriptions are written for colds, bronchitis and upper respiratory infections—despite the fact that antibiotics don’t kill viruses. Dr. Oz of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” says there’s a treatment that may be more effective than medication. “The [ear, nose and throat] doctors whoare specialists in this area will often say a warm saline rinse is a better treatment than a lot of the other drugs that we try to offer folks, because it mechanically cleans out the problem,” he says. Saline cleansing of the nasal sinuses is recommended not only by Winfrey’s on-screen physician, but also the authors of a study of 6,000 sinuspatients. So instead of pressuring your doctor to pre- scribe antibiotics—which may lead to higher medical bills and supergerms—consider an oldfashioned remedy, still available in drugstores, and endorsed by the University of Nebraska Medical Center. It’s a saline rinse, such as the Ayr Saline Nasal Rinse Kit. Simply fill the squeeze bottle with the pH-balanced salt packet, add warm water and run the mixture through each nostril. For more information, visit www.bfascher.com.
