Beware nasal sprays

James · #1 03-21-2004, 03:07 AM

Hey i didn't know allergy nasal sprays were stimulants!

I was running around in circles earlier after taking Afrin.

decadence · #2 03-21-2004, 06:49 PM

Indeed they are. Interestingly it varies from country to country. Example: A runner from Britain was in the U.S for the Olympics or Commonwealth games training or something like that and bought a nasal spray he'd used since childhood (Vics Sinex it might've been) as he had a cold. Only the US version had a stimulant in it which meant he failed a random drugs test because of it, had to go before a judicial board etc!

AOX81 · #3 03-21-2004, 08:50 PM

Nasal sprays are the devil. I had sinus surgery back in 1998 and I was told to NEVER use them again unless it was just saline.

decadence · #4 03-21-2004, 09:12 PM

AOX81, why please?

And does this include Vicks Inhaler sticks?

AchtungBaby80 · #5 03-22-2004, 10:57 PM

Ha! I knew it! My stepdad keeps trying to get me to use this nasal spray because my sinuses are acting up, but I don't like the idea of sticking an object up my nose and then spraying stuff into it. Ewwwwwww...gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it!

MrsMcCartney · #6 03-23-2004, 12:58 AM

Nasal sprays are evil for more than just "stimulant" activity. First of all, if you have any trouble with high blood pressure they are not for you, because they cause your blood vessels to constrict. Second, you get the nasty phenomenon known as the "rebound effect," which means that when the medication wears off your nose gets even more tightly closed up and unbearable than it was before. I got myself addicted to the stuff when I had a terrible long-term cold-type illness several years ago. I would get so desperate to breathe that I would take a hit, and then when it wore off and I stuffed up even worse I would resist as long as I could. You are only supposed to hit it once every 12 hours, but let me tell you it doesn't last that long. I got to the point where I was taking a hit every two or three and boy is it a bitch of a habit to break. Nasty, nasty stuff.

Sister Havana · #7 03-23-2004, 01:56 AM

Unfortunately I can't take cold medicine during the day because it interacts with another medication I take...I feel like I am drowning in my head and I feel worse. So if I need to clear my sinuses, I have to use these. Luckily I haven't had problems with them.