Cilia

The human body comes equipped with a Mucociliary Clearance System (MCS) that keeps sinuses healthy. Unfortunately, millions of people suffer from debilitating sinus problems because their MCS has been degraded by the trappings of modern society. For many, the tiny, delicate "hairs" in the nose stop beating properly when they are constantly exposed to ever-changing indoor and outdoor hot and cold temperatures, overly dry and/or moist environments, airborne allergens, bacteria, viruses, extreme foods and medications.

The cilia act like oars, propelling bacteria, dirt, and poisons out of the nose, before they have a chance to enter the body. When they are beating normally, they perform in a well-orchestrated system beating at exactly 16 times per second; pushing dust and bacteria from the nose to the back of the throat where they can be swallowed and disposed of in the stomach. Protection from infection is achieved by the presence of lysozymes, immunoglobulins and phagocytes inside the mucus solution. Movement of the bacteria by mucus flow reduces the opportunity for penetration into the cells, and the dilution of bacteria makes them less toxic.

A healthy Mucociliary Clearance System is synchronized perfectly; with nasal cilia beating backwards and sinus cilia beating toward the natural sinus openings. Mucus gathers harmful toxins and propels them into the nasopharynx to be swallowed into the stomach where harsh acids kill poisons. If the System isn’t working, the sinuses back up and fill with dangerous bacterial, viral and fungal germs that sinuses aren’t equipped to deal with. For generations, perceptive mom’s have had the intuition to try to restore the cilia’s natural healing powers with simple ideas like hot tea or chicken soup, warm head compresses, and saline moisturizers; more recently people have turned to sinus irrigators.