Blocked nose sprays

[ShyPlumRobin]

Hi, I have been using sudafed decongestant spray for a long time now. The problem is that once it wears off my nose feels very stuffy and congested and can't breathe . I have been looking for a kinder option. I tried sterimar congestion spray but it doesn't do anything for me at all. I am waking up in the night now feeling congested and very restless with the sudafed spray. Can anyone suggest an alternative please?

I’ve been trying Otrivine spray for the last week and it seems pretty good so far.

I’ve read you can become addicted to these in an extremely short while (3/4 days). Your body gets used to having them and you feel congested without. You basically need to go cold turkey for a week to let your body get back to normal.

Check out the Neti pots on Amazon

Have you tried a sinus rinse like NeilMed? When I suffered with sinusitis frequently, Sterimar would barely touch the sides but I would reach for it if it was all I had available.
Nothing beats the sinus rinse for me following sinus surgery. On bad days, I can do the rinse a good few times and feel instant relief. I would also do it just before I go to bed which helped. Also a BreatheRight strip on my nose after the rinse before bed to lessen the congested feeling.
https://amzn.eu/d/iE1YWGu

You do get addicted to these quickly.
You use them more ...need then more.. use them more etc

Becanase is the one that works for me. Once had a sneezing episode lasting 2 weeks! Dr prescribed this and it actually worked!

Use Pirinase for a week or so. It's steroid based and is very effective. A lot of sprays cause rebound stuffiness and shouldn't be used long term.

Also might be worth seeing if you can see the GP, you may have an underlying cause such as chronic sinusitis. I was prescribed 2 different steroid sprays, it was only Dymista that worked. I think GP’s don’t prescribe this often as it’s the more expensive one but it was the only one that kept the sinusitis away prior to surgery

My husband was using Sterimar daily and it wasn't really doing much.
Went to a private GP who had a proper look and he's been told he will need an operation, something to do with the structure of the nasal bones.
He also used Dymista.
It's worth getting it looked at

Definitely stop using the spray- they are not for long term use. I also recommend the NeilMed sinus rinses, twice a day works for me.

I agree re. nasal rinses, they are the only thing that clears the feeling of a blocked nose

Sudafed causes rebound congestion if used for too long. I have been reliant on it in the past and had to wean myself off it. Now I have to make sure I don't use it for more than a few days if I have a blocked nose so it doesn't happen again

Sudafed nasal spray is notorious. The congestion you’re experiencing is almost certainly a result of prolonged use of the spray rather than genuine congestion in and of itself.

Your GP will be able to prescribe a spray for rhinitis / sinusitis that will help you either stop using the Sudafed or space it out more so then you can try weaning yourself off.

This is rebound congestion - you have to just push through it. I was on it for ten years before managing to break it. I had to stop it before a septoplasty. I managed it without it being totally horrendous by doing it a nostril at a time (my surgeon said she’d never seen anyone do it before but it made sense!) I did a week cold turkey on one nostril only using pirinase and then when I could breathe clearly
again, moved onto the other one. It’s awful, addictive stuff and should be more well known. Get rid of it though - your life will be so much better without the little bottles taking up space both physically and mentally.

I think you need to ride out the stuffiness and wean yourself off these sprays. They end up causing the problem rather than solving it.

I used to take them but stopped doing so, I’ve used them as a one off if I have a bad cold but no more than one squirt

Sudafed and Otrivine spray active ingredient is xylometazoline hydrochloride, it shouldn't be used for more than a few days or 'rebound congestion' is likely.

You become addicted to them and it causes rhinitis.
My Mum always had a... I've forgotten the word now - I can only think lempsip! The old one, the usual one.

That's how I know. An ex was an athlete, anti drugs, rarely drank but he was sniffing sudafed constantly.

The only way is cold turkey I'm afraid.

You're either addicted to what is in Sudafed. Or, you have rhinitis caused by these things and you want to calm that. Vicious circle.

Have you tried just a plain saline spray? You have to use nasal sprays pretty sparingly because they stop working in a pretty short period of time. I usually only use one when my regular allergy medicine is not touching the decongestion.

It's called "rebound congestion" - at least, that's what the ENT doc told me. Go see a doctor, explain the problem, and they'll probably give you a saline nasal spray to get you through it.

I became addicted to them too and had rebound congestion. I was using them daily for years. I only managed to wean myself off them by diluting the spray with saline gradually over time with more saline and less of the Sudafed spray. Took a few months but have been free of them for a long time now.
If I get a blocked nose now I will only ever use them at night. Never in the day so I don’t become addicted again

You aren’t supposed to use them for more than a few days - max a week for some. I think you can get steroid spray to wean off - speak to your GP.

Actually just remembered it was flixanase, not pirinase!

I get this sometimes, usually during allergy season. What I do to wean off of it is to first go cold turkey on the less bad nostril, but still use the spray on the worse nostril so I can breathe easily. Once the first side opens back up on its own (takes 12-24 hours), I start cutting back on the worse side. I’ll do one spray instead of two, then a half spray, then a quarter spray, and then it opens back up on its own. It’s much more comfortable than going cold turkey and having to be a mouth-breather for several days. 😂

Yep. Exactly this. Education around extended use of these sprays is sadly lacking.