6 Different Types of Nasal Sprays | Which is Best For You?

There's a lot of misconceptions about nasal sprays so we're going to try to set the record straight with some basic information today. There are a lot of different types of nasal sprays and they're used for different reasons.

Nasal Decongestant
Nasal Steroid Spray
Nasal Antihistamine Spray
Nasal Atrovent, Ipratropium
Nasal Cromolyn
Saline Nasal Spray

The first category is probably one of the most commonly used and this is a nasal
decongestant spray. These phrase are over-the-counter products and common
ones include Afrin, Sinux and for our Canadian listeners Otravin. These sprays are very popular because they work really well and one of the problems is they work too well.

They give you a very quick relief from nasal congestion and drainage within usually 10 minutes. These sprays are appropriate for short term use that includes when you have a cold or a flu for several days or perhaps an allergy flare-up. What they're not appropriate for is long-term use there are warnings on the bottles that tell you don't use this more than five days. Those warnings are real.
The problem with these sprays is that they can be addictive because they decongest so well and they can actually damage the lining inside the nose if they're used for too long a time.

When the starts to happen the spray will become less effective people will tend to use more of it and at some point it will just totally stop working and you'll be stuck with it badly stuffed nose that you will not get relief from that has damaged tissue.

Nasal Steroid Spray

The next category is spray which is probably the second most commonly used as ones like this which our nasal steroid sprays. There's a lot of different brands such as Flonase, Nasacort Nasonex Rhinocort and these sprays are all similar they all use medications that are steroid based and
they're in the same family of drugs.

There's also generic versions of these that can either be prescription or over-the-counter as well.

Nasal Antihistamine Spray

If you can imagine taking something like a Claritin and putting it into a spray form which you shove up your nose, that's what these sprays do. The upside of them is again they tend to be very safe they have a faster onset than the nasal steroid sprays and usually will have an effect within half an hour.

The downside of them is that they don't work instantly like a decongestant and you probably wait about half an hour to get a good effect.

They often don't have a very good taste so we tell people after using them they should brush their
teeth have some gum etc to kill some of the drainage that gets into the throat.

Nasal Atrovent, Ipratropium

This is a very different type of spray and it really doesn't do much for the congestion or stuffiness but it does help drainage and it's designed for people that have frequent thin watery drainage from the nose.

Nasal Cromolyn

These sprays are not used that often because they need to be used fairly often several times a day and they're not terribly potent. The one upside is that they are generally thought to be safe in pregnancy unlike the other sprays.

Saline Nasal Spray
Saline is just salt water that is balanced to be the same level of salt that's in our bloodstream and tissues. Using plain water in the nose is an irritant. So all the sprays have a certain amount of salt in them.

Saline spray is incredibly safe it can be used in pregnancy in children and in essentially anybody. It has a cleansing action where it helps to keep the nose moist and healthy and remove debris and mucus it also has some effect on the feeling of congestion. It can loosen mucus so you can properly blow your nose and clear out secretions without using too much force.

We hope this was helpful!
In this video, Dr. Ariel Waitzman discusses the 6 different types of Nasal Sprays. Some types of #nasalspray are appropriate for short term use. Other sprays can be used frequently over time.

Flu season is here, and it's important to understand which type of spray is recommended for different situations. #nasalcongestion #fluseason

There are many different Dr. Ariel Waitzman and Dr. Fred Lopatin have offices in Dearborn & Livonia Michigan. If you would like to schedule an appointment please visit or simply call 313.582.8853

We would be happy to answer any questions!

Disclaimer: This video is for educational
purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. nasal spray

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