What You Weren't Told About Decongestant Products
Decongestant Products
Decongestants are drugs used to relieve nasal congestion, and
come in many forms. Decongestants commonly come in pill form,
but nasal sprays and liquid syrups are both available as well.
Nasal congestion is caused, usually during a cold, when the
membranes of the nose become swelled. Decongestants relieve this
swelling by constricting the blood vessels in the area. This
reduces blood flow to the area, and in turn the swelling.
It is important to remember, like most over the counter
medication, that decongestants do nothing to hasten the cure of
nasal congestion, but rather relieve the symptoms only. It is
for this reason that decongestants should never be used as long
term solutions to a chronically stuffed nose. Also keep in mind
that 90% of the time, a cold will go away on its own, without
the aid of any medication.
So unless you find yourself really inhibited by a stuffed nose,
decongestants might not always be the best solution.
Another concern to those who use nasal sprays to relieve their
nasal decongestion is the phenomenon of "rebound nasal
congestion." This can sometimes occur when a nasal decongestant
has been used repeatedly over several days.
What can happen is that the nose actually gets more stuffed up
as the spray is used more often, resulting in a condition that
can only be stopped by ceasing to use the spray for a week or
more until the nose slowly improves. For this reason most
physicians will advise that you don't use nasal decongestants
for more than 3 days in a row.
One of the side effects associated with decongestants is
drowsiness, although this is not necessarily very common. As a
precaution you should avoid operating motor vehicles, heavy
machinery and the like until you're familiar with the effects
that a particular decongestant has on you personally.
There are also certain situations in which it is ill-advised to
take a decongestant, unless it is under the supervision of s
physician.
Anyone with heart disease, blood pressure problems or an
enlarged prostate should avoid decongestants. Keeping these
concerns in mind, decongestants can be an effective short term
solution for relief of nasal congestion.
Popular nasal inhalers like Dristan are able to provide almost
instant relief from nasal congestion - just remember to avoid
using nasal decongestants it for more than a few days in a row,
as it could end up actually causing more nasal congestion,
though the "rebound nasal congestion" effect