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by country According to the National Health Commission, from 0-24:00 on April 5, 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported 20,472 new local infections, including 1,383 local confirmed cases and 19,089 local asymptomatic infections. . There have been a large number of asymptomatic infections in this round of the epidemic. Is Omicron really a “big flu”? On March 29, the head of the first Shenzhen epidemic prevention and control public health expert group, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Dean Lu Hongzhou introduced in the live broadcast of “Normalization of Epidemic Epidemic Strengthening Protection” on the People’s Daily Health Client, this round of epidemic is mainly the mutant strain of Omicron. The mutant strain of Omicron is characterized by very strong contagion and high toxicity. weakened. Some European and American countries think that the Ormicon strain is a “big flu”, but it is not. In many countries, after more than two years of repeated infection of a large number of people and widespread vaccination, the pathogenicity has weakened. If not vaccinated, the Omicron strain can still cause a lot of severe illness and death. In addition, many people believe that the trend of new coronavirus mutation is that the toxicity gradually weakens. In this regard, Dean Lu Hongzhou said that this statement is not comprehensive. For example, the delta strain is mutated from the original strain, but the pathogenicity and infectivity of the delta strain are higher than the original strain in early 2020. Strong; there is also the Ebola virus discovered in 1976, and the virulence of the Ebola virus has not weakened so far. Therefore, controlling the widespread spread of the virus in the population is an important means to prevent the virus from continuing to mutate. Most of the patients diagnosed in this round of the epidemic have mild symptoms. Why are there more symptoms of nasopharyngeal discomfort? On March 29, Yin Yong, director of the Department of Respiratory Medicine of the National Children’s Medical Center and Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, was broadcasting live The current study found that Omicron replicated much faster in bronchial cells than previous variants, but slower in cells in the lower part of the lung, and other strains began multiplying in the bronchi after about 72 hours. , and this strain began to multiply within 24 hours, which also means that this variant is more likely to be expelled into the air in the form of droplets and spread to more people. In terms of symptoms, the damage caused by the infection caused by Omicron is mainly limited to the upper respiratory tract, such as the nose, throat and respiratory tract. 
Vice President of Chinese Medical Association Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Branch of Jilin University Zhu Dongdong introduced in the live broadcast on March 29 that the virus concentration produced by the mutant strain in the nasal cavity is higher, and we found a higher viral load in the nasal swab compared with the throat swab. Therefore, the infected person exhales more virus each time they exhale, so safe, effective and comprehensive protection is very important. Therefore, most of this wave of epidemics are mild or asymptomatic infections, as is the case with the recent epidemics in Jilin and Shanghai. Experts remind: In addition to daily protection, we must also pay attention to nasal cleaning< strong>Daily protection for the normalization of the new crown epidemic. Professor Zhu Dongdong reminded that no matter how the new coronavirus mutates, it is still spread through droplets, direct contact and indirect contact. To prevent virus infection, it is necessary to standardize wearing masks, wash hands, wash nose, pay attention to hand disinfection, and keep it in public places. 1 meter social distance to minimize crowd gathering. Because the Omicron variant basically invades the nasal cavity and nasopharyngeal mucosa, and replicates in the upper airway, more attention should be paid to the cleaning and care of the nasal cavity. Before nasal irrigation, it has been widely used in the treatment of various diseases such as nasal cavity and sinus, including colds, rhinitis, sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, etc. Nasal irrigation can effectively physically remove common pathogens such as bacteria and dust in the nasal cavity. 
Picture from: North Qing It starts from the respiratory tract. The nasal cavity is the beginning of the entire airway. It not only regulates breathing, smell, and assists pronunciation, but also has a protective effect against viruses, bacteria, and particulate pollutants. Therefore, the nasal cavity is our first channel. line of defense. Therefore, in the new crown cases, the viral load of nasal swabs is higher than that of throat swabs. Many individuals with new crown show upper respiratory symptoms, if the virus is prolongedAdhering to our respiratory tract, invading the mucosa, or even integrating into the human mucosal cells, people are easily infected with viruses. In terms of clinical application, Professor Lu Hongzhou introduced that at present, our Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital mainly uses nasal irrigation as one of the treatment methods in the treatment of patients with new crowns, which can reduce the mucosal The virus adheres, accelerates the virus turning negative, and speeds up recovery. For ordinary people, it is recommended to flush the nasal cavity with sea salt water/normal saline daily to reduce the residence time of the virus in the nasal mucosa. 
Picture from: North Qing Said that nasal irrigation is a more effective protective measure during the epidemic. It can not only strengthen protection with measures such as wearing a mask, but also restore the inherent self-cleaning ability of the nasal cavity and enhance human resistance, thereby preventing the occurrence of rhinitis and upper respiratory tract infections. It can also reduce the inconvenience and risk of getting sick and seek medical treatment during special periods, take up as little medical resources as possible, protect yourself and indirectly contribute to the fight against the epidemic.