“Are nasal sprays safe for those who smoke?”
I am a 40 year old man and have been suffering from blocked nose and severe congestion for the last 3 days. The doctor has advised me to use a nasal spray to get relief from the congestion. I have heard people who smoke should stay away from nasal sprays as it could lead to further congestion. I am a smoker, so kindly advice.
6 Answers
First, enlist the help of your physicians for smoking cessation. Second, starting with nasal saline sprays should not increase your congestion and there's no harm in these being used in a patient who smokes. Other sprays, such as nasal corticosteroid sprays, may be warranted, but discuss this with your doctor first.
You smoke and you’re worried about nose spray?? Smoking is the single greatest cause of preventable disease and death! But no, there’s no relationship between nasal sprays and smoking. If you value living, stop smoking.
If you have nasal congestion and you are a smoker the first thing you must do is to stop smoking. Smoke irritates your nasal mucosas, stops the ciliary movement and increases the secretions present in the sinuses and nasopharynx. Nasal spray that are vasoconstrictors like most of the over the counter ones could relief the congestion but if used for more than 3 days will create a dependency and make the congestion worst. Nasal steroids sprays will not create addiction or dependency. The use of saline solution irrigation prior the use of the nasal steroids is very useful. If after one week of treatment with little or no relief a visit to the Otolaryngologist for a full ENT examination should be scheduled in order to find possible causes like nasal polyps, allergies, tumors infection or structural problems among others
Using vasoconstrictor nasal sprays briefly, i.e 7-10 days should not be a problem. Better to address the causation of chronic nasal congestion, e.g. smoking, alcohol, allergy, turbinate hypertrophy, septal deviation, polyps, chemical/inflammatory exposure, particulate matter.
Not everyone's response to nasal sprays can be predicted, but I would not hesitate to try it due to smoking. The type of nasal spray is also a question, nasal decongestants versus a nasal steroid.
Most nasal sprays will be safe for 3-4 days and reduce congestion, however, beyond that time you may then experience rebound, which means you will continue to be congested if you stop using the spray. The congestion may last for a week or two after you stop using the spray...it's just a physiologic response and is not permanent.
