Cold, everyone has it sometimes. A stuffy, stuffy nose and a feeling of being unable to breathe. Using a nasal spray often provides relief. But beware, 1 of the substances in the spray is addictive.
Xylometazoline in neusspray
The substance that makes nasal spray addictive is xylometazoline. This initially causes the blood vessels to shrink, making the nasal mucosa less swollen. This allows you to breathe freely again. But if you use the nasal spray for more than 7 days, it also causes the nose to become ‘blocked up’ again. The vessels become accustomed to the substance and the blood vessels expand again. They only shrink again when nasal spray is used.
10 to hundreds of thousands of ‘addicts’
According to the NRC, 10,000 to 100,000 people in the Netherlands are addicted to nasal spray. ENT doctor Ingrid van Rooy adds One today recognize that image. “I think the total numbers are really tens of thousands. Every week someone comes with a specific referral who is addicted to xylometazoline.”
Effects of long-term use nasal spray
In addition to the addictive effect, the use of nasal spray also has a long-term effect. ENT doctor Jolijn Brouwer says to LINDA: “What happens with excessive use varies from person to person. In theory, it is possible that the blood vessels are closed all the time and therefore do not transport enough blood to the mucous membranes. They can die and that can cause a hole in your septum of your nose. This just happens very rarely.”
Addiction Effect
When using nasal spray for longer than 7 days, the addictive effect already starts. It is best to prevent this. But if you have been using the spray for a long time, how do you get rid of it? There are several ways to do that.
How do you get rid of nasal spray?
You can just stop from one moment to the next. This will ensure that your nose will be clogged a lot and that you will probably have sleepless nights. The adjustment takes some time. It can get better within a few weeks, but it can also take several months. Quitting cold turkey, as it is called, is a difficult and big step for many people to take. You can also choose to decrease per nostril. Then you spray first only in one hole and then only in the other hole. The step to not using a nasal spray at all is thus less big. Using the children’s variant (with 0.5 mg/ml xylometazoline instead of 1.0 mg/ml) can also help to stop. Reducing by spraying less and less often per day is also a solution.
Family doctor
A doctor can also help with the withdrawal. There are nasal sprays that do not contain xylometazoline and that can and may be used for a longer period of time. But only a doctor can prescribe it.
Editor’s experience
From the editors we have experience with stopping nasal spray. Starting with a prescribed spray from the GP, in combination with tapering off the 1.0 mg/ml nasal spray, worked best for us. In the unlikely event that you use nasal spray again, for example with a new cold, you will quickly be back to square one. The editors’ experience is to use the children’s nasal spray (with half xylometazoline) and then reduce it per nostril.
Try to avoid
If you have a cold, stick to the prescribed maximum 7 days of nasal spray use. Otherwise it can be a big job to get rid of it. A withdrawal process of several weeks to months.
(Sources: EenVandaag, NRC, LINDA, Service pharmacy, Benu pharmacy, ENT. Photo: Shutterstock)
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