This article explores the causes of a stuffy nose and the various drug and non-drug treatments.
What Causes a Stuffy Nose?
A stuffy nose mainly happens when nasal tissues become inflamed.
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Dry air and tobacco smoke can make the stuffiness worse.
Children also can get a stuffy nose from enlarged adenoids, which sometimes need to be surgically removed.
Oral and Nasal Decongestants
Over-the-counter decongestants work by shrinking blood vessels inside the nose.
There are both oral and nasal formulations.
Do not use Sudafed for longer than three days as it can also lead torebound congestion.
Nasal decongestant sprayslikeAfrin (oxymetazoline)also provide short-term relief of a stuffy nose.
Doing so may lead to potentially life-threatening side effects like convulsions, rapid heartbeats, and death.
Non-Drug Treatments
Stuffy noses do not always need to be treated with drugs.
There are several home-spun remedies and over-the-counter products that may be suitable for treating mild sinus or nasal congestion.
Nasal congestion that lasts longer may be a sign of a serious sinus infection in need of treatment.
A runny nose resulting from allergies can be relieved using a nasal steroid spray like Flonase (fluticasone).
First-generation antihistamines such as Benadryl Allergy and Chlor-Trimeton can help with a runny nose resulting from a cold.
Yes, it’s possible for you to get rid of a stuffy nose without medicine.
You might get astuffy nose at nightby lying down to go to sleep.
Lying horizontally can cause mucus to travel up toward your head instead of going down your throat.
Other treatments may be required depending on the cause of a stuffy nose at night.
Different over-the-counter drugs can help relieve sinus or nasal congestion.
They include oral or nasal decongestants, nasal steroid sprays, and oral antihistamines.
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