It may come as a surprise to some that thousands of people misuse over-the-counter nasal sprays. The labels on the bottles state that the product should not be used for more than three days at a time. However, many continue to use them for an extended period and at more frequent intervals than what is recommended.
While it’s not a true addiction, it is easy to become hooked on over-the-counter nasal sprays. These products provide instant relief of sinus congestion that can’t often be found with oral drugs and even most prescription nasal sprays. And when you’re stopped up, instant relief is like a dream come true.
Over the counter nasal sprays use a variety of main ingredients with the more common one of oxymetazoline HCL. The medication does indeed provide instant relief. What is also does, however, is shorten the duration of relief time so that the spray is needed more frequently. The more it is used, the more often it’s needed.
I was an over user of over the counter nasal sprays. I was a stickler for always having my Vick’s Nasal Spray… it had to be the 12-hour fine mist spray, otherwise, I wasn’t happy. I took it wherever I went. If I was out and about and realized I didn’t have it on me, in a mild panic, I would have to stop and buy another bottle. At one point, I had one bottle at my bedside table, on in my purse, and one in my car. I simply couldn’t go without my nasal spray.
I used the spray for more than two years. I’d been to the doctor. I’d had CAT scans. I’d been on prescription oral medications as well as prescription nasal sprays. Nothing unstuffed my nose like the over the counter sprays. Nothing allowed me to get a good night’s rest, while being able to breathe fully through my nose, like my nasal spray. I was a firm believer that I needed it at all times.
In my situation, my sinuses were consistently stuffed up. I had no discharge, nothing to “blow” out, no drainage…nothing. It simply felt like my sinuses were swelled to the size of a golf ball and there was no way any air was passing into or out of my nasal passages. Deep down, I knew I was taking my spray too often and too frequently. It clearly says to not use it more than two times in a day…I, however, was using it up to four or five times a day.
Only recently did I start to realize that I’d better make some changes. I realized that I can’t keep using this product forever and I needed to get things under control.
On television, I saw an episode of Oprah with Dr. Oz. He showed a product that is proven to relieve sinus congestion, so I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s called a Netty Pot and it uses a salt water solution to flush and drain out the sinuses. I tried it a few times, experienced either no luck or, sometimes, a lot of pain. So I gave up the pot and went back to my spray. Later, something else motivated me to try to get off the spray again.
I saw a health program on television that discussed the over use of over the counter nasal sprays. I was shocked to learn that there were other people who had the same problem! I was shocked that not only did some people have the same problem, but thousands of people did! The show offered two options for “getting off” of over the counter sprays. The first was to simply stop, cold turkey. I snorted at the thought of that. I know what it’s like to try to sleep, or not sleep, through constant congestion and having to work early the following day, still stuffed up. The next was to try a homeopathic approach; a nasal spray using natural products that are proven to relieve nasal congestion.
I went with the latter. However, it didn’t work. I did find some minor relief as soon as I used it, but the over all effect was less than desirable. When I was done with the trail run, a full bottle of peppery hotness, I went back to my old ways.
After a few weeks of giving the homeopathic spray a chance, I thought more and more about the situation every time I used my other spray. I began to feel worse and worse about how the spray could be affecting me. So, I made the ultimate decision to stop; cold turkey.
This was the best choice I’d made about the situation over the past two years! I couldn’t believe how much I didn’t suffer through the process. I thought for sure that I’d have to at least used the spray at night, but I’d convinced myself that if I were going to do this thing, I would have to do it all the way. The first day, I remained stopped up all day long. At night, I simply had to have a night of bad sleep. I kept my water and chap stick handy, as I knew my mouth would be overly dry from not being able to breathe through my nose. That first night, I didn’t think I could do it.
The second day, I noticed a drastic difference. Only being stopped up part of the day and night, things started to look better. By the fifth day, I almost couldn’t tell I ever had a problem to begin with. On day six, there was no congestion what-so-ever. I’d been able to sleep all through the night by night five, with no thoughts of sinus congestion.
Two years of being stuffed up, and “hooked” on over the counter nasal sprays…cured in less than a week. It simply took a few days of minor discomfort, of getting it out of my head that I “needed” that spray, to get rid of the habit of using this harmful medication.
If it hadn’t been for that health show demonstrating the homeopathic approach and describing the many other people across the world that deal with the same problem as I did, I would likely still be hooked. And although their recommended spray didn’t do wonders for me, the show still gave me the motivation to make an effort and put a stop to using a spray that could be harming my body.
If I had to do it all over again, I would have never even started using an over the counter nasal spray to begin with. But if I did, I would definitely go through the few days of discomfort to get off the medicine rather than becoming hooked again. Personally, I’ll never use a spray again. I’d rather suck it up and get through it than to go through that situation again. Knowing that there are others who have experienced the same thing and were able to get through was encouragement enough to do it myself.
