Baltimore City Wire

The scientific evidence is in: Nitric oxide can help increase athletic performance and reduce sinusitis symptoms.

Chronic sinusitis corresponds with more than a 50% reduction in nasal nitric oxide levels, according to the medical journal Acta Oto-Laryngologica.

Evidence suggests that lack of nitric oxide may even contribute to the development of the disease. In a study of 82 patients, nitric oxide levels were significantly lower in patients with nasal polyps than those with uncomplicated allergic rhinitis, according to Clinical and Experimental Allergy.

A report in the European Respiratory Journal said patients can naturally increase nitric oxide concentrations simply by humming. In one case study, chronic rhinosinusitis symptoms -- such as postnasal drip, facial or maxillary sinus pain and inflammation of sinus -- were essentially eliminated in four days by using a humming regimen, possibly due to antifungal  properties of nitric oxide, according to Medical Hypotheses.

Chronic sinusitis is mostly caused by nasal allergies, nasal  obstruction, nasal polyps or infections, according to Healthline.

“It usually starts with a virus, which almost everyone gets, and then it can evolve into bacterial secondary recurrent infections, as well as   chronic infections, which have specific criteria that you have to meet," Dr. Jamie Oberman of Frederick Breathe Sinus & Allergy Centers told Baltimore City Wire. "But it's a significant problem that affects the population and quality of life as a result. It doesn't discriminate, as far as age or race; it affects everyone.” 

Nitric oxide is a colorless gas and is known as a “signaling molecule," according to Wikipedia.

Its biological functions are vast, making it one of the most important molecules in the body: from anti-inflammatory properties, immune defense against viruses and parasitic organisms, hormonal effects, influence on the secretion of  hormones, to regulation of bladder function and protecting the skin from ionizing radiation, according to LVI Global.

Nitric oxide inhaled during nasal breathing improves blood oxygenation, Train Right reported. So it is believed that nitric oxide may cause a positive effect on athletic performance.

To learn more about this article or to take a sinus self-assessment, visit Frederick Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers.