'At some point you can’t breathe without it': The nasal spray trap

Berlin (dpa) – Decongestant nasal sprays can save you from a restless night when a cold clogs up your nose, but pharmacists warn this aid can be a slippery slope. The leaflet that comes with it will – if you read it – tell you that a decongestant spray should not be used for longer than seven days in a row. Pharmacist Alexander Schmitz advises even more caution. He said anyone with a blocked nose should give it up after four to five days and use a moisturising seawater-based spray instead. The reason is that the nasal mucosa quickly adapts to decongestant active ingredients, which cause the blood vessels in the lining to constrict. "At some point you can't breathe without the spray, so you have to make sure you always have it with you," says Schmitz. The pharmacist said he repeatedly encounters people who have developed a nasal spray dependency. Coming off it can be hard, he says. "After all, everyone wants to be able to breathe." Using a nasal spray after your cold has gone also has other unwanted effects. Over time, decongestant sprays dry out the nasal mucosa. "This not only risks bleeding, but also greater susceptibility to infection, because pathogens can penetrate more easily," Schmitz explains. Important protective functions of the nose then work only to a limited extent. How to wean the nasal lining off decongestant sprays? The classic tip is to switch first to a children’s version, which contains less active ingredient. Once the nose has adjusted to the lower dose, the next step is to switch to a seawater nasal spray that contains no active ingredient at all. This plan does not always work. "Many have had this adaptation for years. Then those are steps that are too big," said Schmitz. In that case he advised seeking help at a pharmacy. "We can dilute the nasal spray. Then you wean yourself off in really tiny steps until you eventually reach 0.0%, that is the seawater nasal spray." How long this takes depends on the person. Unlike with decongestant sprays, seawater sprays don't bring the risk of the nasal lining becoming dependent, since these simply have a moisturising effect. The following information is not intended for publication dpa/tmn rid yyzz n1 lue sw coh

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