The active substances in the medicine cause your nasal mucosa to shrink. When the spray is used for more than a week, habituation can occur. The nasal mucosa then becomes damaged and remains swollen. You need the medicine again and again to combat nasal congestion, in other words: you have become addicted.
That’s how you get rid of it.
Cold turkey
If you want to go the drastic way, you can stop using nasal spray at once. After a few days, your nasal mucosa will shrink again and you will suffer less from a blocked nose.
Stop per nostril
You can also choose to wean per nostril. Only use the spray in one nostril and lie on your side with the open nostril down when sleeping. This gives the upper nostril more space. After a few days you will notice air coming through the upper nostril again. Then it’s time to lie on the other side and stop using nasal spray altogether. This way the other nostril can also kick the habit.
Tapering down
Use the nasal spray less and less often. For example, if you spray five times a day, you can reduce this to four times a day, then three and so on. You can also use children’s nasal spray to reduce. This one is less strong. After that you could alternate with saline, which is gentler on your nasal mucosa.
It takes a while
It is important to know that it can take a few months for your nasal mucosa to recover. Therefore, all these options take time. If you really can’t figure it out, consult your doctor.
Doctor Rutger explains again in this video how to get rid of your nasal spray addiction:
Bron: Service Pharmacy