Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Sea water@£60/l at Amazon

Sea water@£60/l at Amazon

wg48 - 21-1-2019 at 16:46

Amazon sells sea water as their own brand of decongestant at £6 for 100ml bottle !!!

Snake oil salesmen are a live and some are doing very well.

This reminds me I need to find a better veterinary. Each time I take my dog to him he tries to sell me herbal remedies or homoeopathic medicines to help my dog. Cost about £20 to £30 each month. I told him I wanted medicines that contain real drugs. He said it works but when I asked what the active ingredient was he said it did not contain one !!!. I assume he is trying to get an on going cash flow going by mugging his gullible customers.

[Edited on 22-1-2019 by wg48]

j_sum1 - 21-1-2019 at 16:51

What the hell does "micro diffused" mean?

wg48 - 21-1-2019 at 17:29

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1

What the hell does "micro diffused" mean?

Is supposed to mean that although its only sea water with nothing added its worth paying £6 for a 100ml bottle of it because if nothing else the micro plastic is filtered out LOL

j_sum1 - 21-1-2019 at 18:10

You have to have a special word so that people are not lulled into thinking they can simply take a plastic bucket to the beach.

Sad really.

Herr Haber - 22-1-2019 at 04:51

I use that same brand (Stérimar is not Amazon) a few times a year.
Sometimes on doctor's orders and sometimes on my own (allergies).

I wouldnt call that snake oil though alone it's never going to "cure" anything.
Is it better than snorting tap water ? I dont know. Some of their selling arguments are scientifically silly but others... well, the jury's still out.

VSEPR_VOID - 23-1-2019 at 19:56

I should start selling this shit on etsy

Assured Fish - 23-1-2019 at 20:01

Herr Haber, how the hell is salt water going to help with anything, let alone allergies.
Also why the hell would a doctor suggest this, given that if you drink too much you could die from a salt overdose.

Salt water does help with ulcers and can help to disinfect wounds from non halophilic bacteria, but i see no reason why it would have any benefits by ingestion that could not otherwise be had by eating normal table salt.

Jackson - 23-1-2019 at 20:45

probably just flushes out the nasal cavity. I think saline probably works better than normal water because its a little closer to the salinity of a nasal cavity, but probably not much. Besides, you can find the same product, a saline nose spray, for way cheaper. depending on what brand they actually have a decongestant in them so they actually work instead of some homeopathic MMS stuff.

wg48 - 24-1-2019 at 01:50

Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber

I use that same brand (Stérimar is not Amazon) a few times a year.
Sometimes on doctor's orders and sometimes on my own (allergies).

I wouldnt call that snake oil though alone it's never going to "cure" anything.
Is it better than snorting tap water ? I dont know. Some of their selling arguments are scientifically silly but others... well, the jury's still out.

I checked and you may be correct it is only recommended by Amazon.

£6 for 100ml of sea water is expensive. With the only efficacy evidence silly scientific arguments and pending jury results I think it fits the usual definition of snake oil.

I am not in to the fine details of advertising law or medical claims but I would think calling it a decongestant would be a false claim or a very dubious one.

Sulaiman - 24-1-2019 at 02:18

There is more in sea water than H₂O and NaCl !

My son suffered with eczema since birth,
cortisones and other manufactured drugs work reasonably well
- but have side effects.

We discovered that swimming in the sea (not just being by-the-sea) cleared up eczema in hours

Based on this new knowledge,
when his eczema flared up and it was inconvenient to get to the beach,
I cleverly tried a salt+water application;
it hurt him (stinging feeling) but did not help his eczema at all.
(even though I'd psychologically prepared him to be 'cured')

wg48 - 24-1-2019 at 02:19

Quote: Originally posted by Assured Fish

Herr Haber, how the hell is salt water going to help with anything, let alone allergies.
Also why the hell would a doctor suggest this, given that if you drink too much you could die from a salt overdose.

Salt water does help with ulcers and can help to disinfect wounds from non halophilic bacteria, but i see no reason why it would have any benefits by ingestion that could not otherwise be had by eating normal table salt.

I am guessing why: Doctors tend to be under pressure to prescribe something and there is always the placebo effect so if the prescription is almost harmless and the patient is happy. Unfortunately in the UK where it costs nothing to visit a doctor prescribing snake oil just helps to clog up the system. (not an invitation for a discussion on the NHS)

Ubya - 24-1-2019 at 03:26

Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman

There is more in sea water than H₂O and NaCl !

My son suffered with eczema since birth,
cortisones and other manufactured drugs work reasonably well
- but have side effects.

We discovered that swimming in the sea (not just being by-the-sea) cleared up eczema in hours

well sea water it's not only sodium chloride in water, there are many more ions, plus if the salty water you made hurt your son, maybe it was too concentrated, 3,5% should be the total salt content

Herr Haber - 24-1-2019 at 05:16

Quote: Originally posted by Assured Fish

How the hell: by putting it in your snotty nose

Why the hell: I'm no doctor so I follow prescriptions.

Herr Haber - 24-1-2019 at 05:31

WG48: it's clearly not a placebo effect.
You've got stuff in your nose. Mucus, bacteria, soot etc and it's all clogged up.

From my life experience there are 2 ways to take care of nasal congestion:
- Let it all out (these are the things you can do without so come on) Woops.
Blow your nose and hope for the best. If it's cold enought and you've got heaters on it might be just dry enough so it'll stay in place.
So maybe take a long shower and the damp air will help. I'm certain you see how Sterimar may work as long as you use it correctly (in your NOSE).
- Use pseudoephedrine
Shit stays in place but at least it's dry.

I can only find good opinions on the web on this product, mostly from mothers.
We're all entitled to our opinions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_spray

Edit: added link

[Edited on 24-1-2019 by Herr Haber]

phlogiston - 24-1-2019 at 06:37

Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman

Interesting. Maybe the sand/sun contributed? Just being by the sea apparently does not help, but maybe the combination of swimming and subsequently drying up in the sun/playing in sand?

Probably the bulk of of the cost of manufacturing the amazon product goes into quality control (egchecking that it is germ-free) and packaging. Especially if they actually registered it as medicine, they'll have to conform to all kinds of regulations.

[Edited on 24-1-2019 by phlogiston]

MrHomeScientist - 24-1-2019 at 08:06

Ah but it's not just natural sea water, it's "enriched with copper" (somehow)! And that's... good?

And as others have pointed out, this is to rinse out your sinus cavity, like a Neti pot. Those work great, although I find them kind of gross and uncomfortable to use. We buy Neti salt to make our own "sea water" for it. You generally don't want to flush any old water through your head; that's how you get a sinus infection.

Herr Haber - 24-1-2019 at 09:21

MrHomeScientist: Yup, they have a whole range of products (Cu, Zn etc.).

Ewww ! Just checked the Neti pot you mentioned. Gross indeed

MrHomeScientist - 24-1-2019 at 10:55

The commercials for them are fun to watch, though. People trying to smile and look happy while ramming something up their nose, lol. In reality you're gagging and snot is waterfalling out of your face

unionised - 25-1-2019 at 10:22

Could be worse; they might be selling fresh water.
https://eu.app.com/story/news/2018/09/30/nj-man-killed-brain...

Morgan - 25-1-2019 at 11:30

I read something about using a waterpik in some foreign countries, that amoeba problem could crop up. This item ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_irrigator

Do not direct water under the tongue, into the ear, nose or other delicate areas. This product
is capable of producing pressures that may
cause serious damage in these areas. • Do not direct water into the nose or ear. The potentially deadly amoeba, Naegleria
fowleri, may be present in some tap water or unchlorinated well water and may be fatal if
directed into these areas. • Use this product only as indicated in these instructions or as recommended by your
dental professional.
http://www.modes-d-emploi.com/manuals/575404/waterpik-wp-660...

sodium_stearate - 26-1-2019 at 09:35

There are always going to be
those types of people around who can try to
find yet another way to sell ice to eskimos.

wg48 - 26-1-2019 at 13:56

I went shopping today and bought the following liquids:

Unbranded cola £0.35/2l
Simi skimmed milk £0.75/1l
fizzy flavoured mineral water £0.35/l

These are high volume items but they are for ingestion admittedly not up a nose.
I certainly don't know the fine detail of the manufacturing, testing and economics of Sterimar sea water but can it be so much more than the production of milk, cola or flavoured mineral water that it costs £6 for 100ml if thats not profiteering its gouging.

Tsjerk - 26-1-2019 at 14:43

Quote: Originally posted by phlogiston

Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman

There are tablets sold to biology labs which are dissolved in dH2O to be used as sea water. They contain mostly NaCl but also a lot of other elements including trace elements.

It would be very interesting to see if a solution of these tables would help your son. If they do, you could work out what elements are needed to help him, as the components of the tablets are known and can the solution can be reproduced enjoy about 10/15 salts.

S.C. Wack - 26-1-2019 at 15:15

It would be even more interesting if it didn't help but the organic or living fractions did.

Herr Haber - 27-1-2019 at 15:12

Sterimar is just sterile sea water as the name implies.

There you go for the EN site:
https://sterimar.com/en/

I only knew the "regular" flavor.

Morgan - 27-1-2019 at 19:21

A 2016 recall
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2087448/High-stre...

Sterimar hypertonic* is a solution of filtered sea water, 100% natural and free from preservatives. Rich in mineral salts and marine trace elements with additional Copper and Manganese,
https://tradedirect.co/product/sterimar-congestion-relief-50...

[Edited on 28-1-2019 by Morgan]

stamasd - 20-2-2019 at 08:53

Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist

Ah but it's not just natural sea water, it's "enriched with copper" (somehow)! And that's... good?

And as others have pointed out, this is to rinse out your sinus cavity, like a Neti pot. Those work great, although I find them kind of gross and uncomfortable to use. We buy Neti salt to make our own "sea water" for it. You generally don't want to flush any old water through your head; that's how you get a sinus infection.

I make my own Neti pot mix. Cheaper than buying the packets. IIRC each packet has 2.4g NaCl and 1.2g NaHCO3. I just made in bulk a jar of the mix a few years ago and have been slowly going through it, one teaspoon at a time.

The old Medicine Show

sodium_stearate - 21-2-2019 at 07:25

Many years ago, a box wagon would pull into
a town on the dusty main street.

A gentleman in a black suit with a top hat
would step down from the front of the wagon,
and set up shop on the back platform.

Soon there would be a small gathering of townspeople
listening to The Good Doctor as he told about his
miracle tonic that cures all ills. Just also happened that
he had a wagon full of bottles of it for sale.

The main ingredient was always alcohol.

Nothing new here. There are still plenty of these guys
out there selling ice to eskimos.

Herr Haber - 22-2-2019 at 03:44

If you dont mind what you put in your sinuses you can use water from the toilet bowl.
If you're afraid of infections and have social security then you have better options.

Tsjerk - 22-2-2019 at 06:16

"micro diffused" means it is filtered through micron filters in order to sterilize, which it has to be because it is used internally.