Best OTC nasal spray?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Invid-Corg - 24 Jul 2004 21:50 GMT

I'm looking for something effective and non-addicting. Any recs? I've seen
4-Way, Simply Saline, Ayr, Afrin, Ocean, and others. Thanks.

Reply to this Message

iJah - 25 Jul 2004 19:17 GMT

>I'm looking for something effective and non-addicting. Any recs? I've seen
>4-Way, Simply Saline, Ayr, Afrin, Ocean, and others. Thanks.

There used to be a wonderful saline spray with camphor, eucalyptus,
etc. called 4-Way saline (not the same as the 4-Way spray that is
still on the market which contains one of the deadly medications that
cause extreme rebound effect like oxymetazonline). Sure wish that was
still around.

But, another fantastic thing I've found is a nasal gel called 'Nose
Better' - no drugs - just camphor, menthol, eucalyptus, lanolin, etc.
Great for gently opening up the sinuses and for moisturizing. It used
to be sold OTC at Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS but not anymore. Probably
they yanked it off the shelves because it works to well ;-) It's a
little pricey - $9.99 for a small tube - but a little goes a long way.
You can get it at http://www.LeePharmaceuticals.com - just search for
'Nose Better' on the site.

Also, I've heard a lot of good comments about 'Sinus Buster' - again,
not OTC but you can order it online from http://www.SinusBuster.com

Reply to this Message

jennremtb - 30 Jul 2004 02:46 GMT

4 Way actually just contains 1% phenylephrine. This is the best
decongestant in the world in my opnion, but used topically (nose sprays)
for more than about 3 days it can cause rebound congestion (rhinitis
medicamentosa) just like Afrin (oxymetazoline). The only nose sprays you
can get over the counter are phenylephrine, oxymetazoline, saline, and
assorted herbal/natural ones (the majority of which contain some sort of
menthol). The only ones you can use all the time are saline sprays (any
brand) and the natural ones. Being a pharmacy tech, I can't recommend the
best natural spray. I don't use them and the pharmacist I work with
doesn't recommend them. He is big on chinese medicine but the first thing
he will recommend is one of the saline sprays. If these don't help you,
your best bet is to stick with seeing your doc and getting a script for a
nasal steroid like Flonase. These are highly effective and actually very
safe. Hope this helps,
jenn

Reply to this Message