Sorry to hear about your daughter meadow_wind. I suffered from it at about the same age too, so I know what it's like.
For what it's worth I just listened to a podcast on the benefits of xylitol - mostly it covered xylitol (gum) and the reduction of cavities in children. It kills the bacteria that cause cavities (incidentally sorbitol feeds them, which is found in most toothpastes). It also talked about using xylitol nasal sprays to balance the bacteria there too - it reduces inflammation and also helps prevent many viruses.
I'm going to try it shortly.
Here's the podcast:
And a paper with a meta analysis of the effects:
For what it's worth I just listened to a podcast on the benefits of xylitol - mostly it covered xylitol (gum) and the reduction of cavities in children. It kills the bacteria that cause cavities (incidentally sorbitol feeds them, which is found in most toothpastes). It also talked about using xylitol nasal sprays to balance the bacteria there too - it reduces inflammation and also helps prevent many viruses.
I'm going to try it shortly.
Here's the podcast:
And a paper with a meta analysis of the effects:
Xylitol nasal preparations in sinonasal disease: a literature review and meta-analysis
[..]
Xylitol has been shown to exhibit antimicrobial properties with several studies demonstrating that this is owed to its inherent ability to enhance the innate immune system by altering the salt concentration of the airway surface liquid thereby increasing the effect of endogenous antimicrobials such as lysozymes, lactoferrin and beta defensins (2,3). It also acts as an anti-biofilm agent through inhibition of key enzymes (4-6).
From a rhinologic perspective, xylitol has shown promise in the treatment of sinonasal disease with animal studies demonstrating its efficacy in reducing chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) biofilms (7) and enhancing bacterial killing in nasal and sinus mucosa (8). Specifically, it has effects on several pathogens commonly implicated in sinonasal disease, directly affecting the growth of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae whilst being able to dissolve the biofilm structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As a result, xylitol has now been found as an additive to saline solution in commercially available nasal sprays and sinus rinses (9).