.jpg?itok=UMLxozpM "Lisa was addicted to nasal spray for years: ‘A bottle a day went through’")
“If I didn’t use it, it felt like I was choking,” Lisa Smits (20) tells RTL Nieuws about the time she was addicted. She sounds like a cold on the phone, her nose is full. “But I’m not going to use a nasal spray, then I’ll ruin the operation.”
Innocent started
Lisa never imagined eight years ago that her addiction would eventually lead to nose surgery. She had a cold when, like many people, she bought a nasal spray at the drug store. “I only kept a cold for a very long time, so I kept using the nasal spray for a lot longer as well.”
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The package leaflet of a nasal spray containing the substance xylometazoline states that you can use it for a maximum of one week. “But it felt harmless to do it a little longer. I just didn’t realize that I was spraying more and more and more.”
‘A bottle a day’
In the beginning of Lisa’s nose cold, it took her at least a month with a bottle of nasal spray, she remembers. “In the end, that became almost a bottle a day. I had a whole stock in my cupboard. It ran out faster than expected. Then I had to go to the night pharmacy in the middle of the night to buy another bottle. I could really no longer without.”
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What made it so addictive for Lisa? “Being able to breathe freely. Only the nasal spray could make my nose open, that I got air. And when it started to get a little closed again, I used another spray, and another, and another “Sometimes I would wake up 20 times a night because my nose wasn’t all the way open. Then I would get out of bed gently to spray down my nose so my boyfriend wouldn’t wake up.”
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‘Nasal spray addiction a major problem in the Netherlands’
The story of Lisa is familiar to Wytske Fokkens. She is an ENT doctor at the Amsterdam UMC and very often sees patients with a nasal spray addiction. “I hear stories like this all the time,” she says. It is unclear exactly how many Dutch people are addicted. “Those numbers are not kept up to date, and many people don’t go to the GP with this problem at all. But every ENT doctor in the Netherlands who you speak to about this subject recognizes this. It is in any case a big problem.”
Fokkens says that nasal spray in itself can do no harm. “It helps with your nose getting stuffy. If your cold goes away after that, there’s nothing to worry about. But if this doesn’t happen, you have to find out why you keep having a cold. You have to look for the underlying problem, for example you You are allergic to something, but you should in any case not keep spraying with nasal spray.”
Because if you do, you will become addicted in no time, says Fokkens. “You then need the spray to be able to keep your nose open, to still breathe. But spraying nasal spray actually leads to your nose getting closer and closer, because your nasal mucosa swells up a bit more after using it.” a spray. You still use it to open your nose, but after that your nose is twice as closed. And so you work yourself further and further into trouble.”
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For Lisa, her nasal spray was everything to her at one point. “If someone else had finished their nasal spray, they were really not allowed to spray from my bottle. Then I could get into a big fight about that. And if I sometimes saw someone spray in the air, I really didn’t think it was funny. It felt the same to me like breaking a cigarette in a smoking addict.”
‘I couldn’t breathe anymore’
Lisa knew all too well that one bottle of nasal spray a day was not healthy. “I tried everything to get rid of it, mainly because I finally wanted to sleep through the night. I was really exhausted from my addiction. I’ve tried saline nasal spray, inhalation ointment, children’s nasal spray, and even tried cold turkey to stop. But I couldn’t keep up with that last one at all, I really couldn’t breathe anymore and was completely in a panic.”
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After several medical examinations, it was decided to perform a nasal turbinate reduction on Lisa. Wytske Fokkens, ENT doctor at Amsterdam UMC, explains that this is mainly intended as a ‘time-out’. “We don’t do this type of reduction very often, but sometimes it can help because it gives you some rest. You can temporarily breathe normally again and this allows you to kick the habit and look for the underlying problem.”
‘Nobody wants this’
Lisa last used nasal spray almost two weeks ago. She hopes she will never touch it again, and that others won’t either.
“By sharing my story, I want to warn everyone. Nasal spray should not be banned, but people should know that it is not harmless. You really have to stop after seven days, even if you still have a cold. Because it gives everyone a nice feeling to breathe freely, but nobody realizes that you can become addicted to that so quickly. And trust me, nobody wants that.”
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How do you get rid of nasal spray?
ENT doctor Fokkens says that it is very difficult to get rid of a nasal spray addiction independently. With such an addiction, your nasal mucosa is completely destroyed. “Under a microscope, the mucous membrane looks like a large abrasion. That can be repaired just like a normal abrasion, but that takes a very long time in your nose.”
That is why Fokkens advises anyone with a nasal spray addiction to visit their doctor. “There is a reason that you never got rid of your cold. The doctor has to look for that reason and therefore look at the underlying problem. In addition, it is just difficult to get rid of this addiction on your own, just like any other addiction. You just need help with this.”
Yet Fokkens does have a tip if you want to try to kick the habit at home. “First try to stop using nasal spray on one nostril. Continue to use nasal spray in your other nostril. Do this until the problem is solved in one nostril. Note, this can sometimes take months. Then try to stop with your other nostril. nostril.”
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