Dangers of nasal sprays?

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martin lynch - 09 Jan 2006 01:43 GMT

I've heard that nasal sprays can become addictive in that you start to
become reliant on them to keep your nasal passages open.

Is this true for saline nasal sprays, or only medicated sprays?

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David Wright - 09 Jan 2006 04:19 GMT

>I've heard that nasal sprays can become addictive in that you start to
>become reliant on them to keep your nasal passages open.
>
>Is this true for saline nasal sprays, or only medicated sprays?

The latter. The package directions on those sprays (usually they are
12-hour formulas, these days, oxymetazoline hydrochloride, if memory
serves) tell you not to use them continuously for more than three
days or so.

-- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net
These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct.
"If you can't say something nice, then sit next to me."
-- Alice Roosevelt Longworth

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bae@cs.toronto.no-uce.edu - 09 Jan 2006 23:21 GMT

>I've heard that nasal sprays can become addictive in that you start to
>become reliant on them to keep your nasal passages open.
>
>Is this true for saline nasal sprays, or only medicated sprays?

The saline sprays are no problem. There's nothing in them to
habituate to. Washing the nasal passages this way can be very
helpful to people with allergies.

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Amanda - 11 Jan 2006 05:54 GMT

> >I've heard that nasal sprays can become addictive in that you start to
> >become reliant on them to keep your nasal passages open.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> habituate to. Washing the nasal passages this way can be very
> helpful to people with allergies.

How bad is Rhinocort?

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bae@cs.toronto.no-uce.edu - 11 Jan 2006 18:11 GMT

>> >I've heard that nasal sprays can become addictive in that you start to
>> >become reliant on them to keep your nasal passages open.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
>How bad is Rhinocort?

With the caveat that I have no medical qualifications, and
a sample of one, I can say that my husband has been using
Rhinocort for at least five years and has never needed to
increase the dosage.

Rhinocort is a prescription inhaled* powder containing an
anti-inflammatory steroid. The nasal sprays that cause
habituation and a rebound effect when stopped are OTC
medications containing epinephrine-type decongestants.

* There's probably a technical term for snorting a powder
up your nose but I don't know what it is or if anybody
would recognize it if I used it. Insufflation?

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Amanda - 12 Jan 2006 01:32 GMT

> With the caveat that I have no medical qualifications, and
> a sample of one, I can say that my husband has been using
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> up your nose but I don't know what it is or if anybody
> would recognize it if I used it. Insufflation?

Thanks.

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