Afrin Addiction

I’ve heard stories of people getting addicted to nasal spray, but I never thought it could happen to me. Guess what folks? It’s real…it’s damn real.

I’ve had allergies for as long as I can remember. They usually start in late April/early May and run well into the summer, usually stopping sometime in early late June/early July. I used to take Claritin-D, but it seems as if my system became immune to it because it no longer helped. Last year I discovered a nasal spray called Zicam. It worked wonders, allowing me to sleep without any congestion. When the symptoms began this year, I quickly headed to CVS and purchased a bottle of Zicam. It was working well (though no longer for the entire 12 hours), and I was fairly satisfied. When my bottle ran out and I returned to the store, I saw a product called “No Drip” Afrin Severe Congestion Nasal Mist. See, the only problem I had with Zicam is that the spray was disgusting and dripped down the back of my throat or even out of my nose soon after I pumped it in. It was not a big problem, but knowing that it can be eliminated nudged me towards buying the Afrin. As soon as I pumped in the mist, the cool menthol air filled my nasal passages and within seconds relieved any congestion I had. In all honesty I can say that I have never taken a breathe of air as clear as when I was on Afrin.

Things were going great, I had almost no symptoms from the allergies, I was breathing better than ever, and I found my savior…Afrin. Luckily, I decided to read the box carefully after about 5 days. There was a label warning users not to continue for more than 3 days. It had barely been 5 for me, so I wasn’t too worried, but I did decide to look at what may happen to someone if they were to continue use past the allotted time. I saw many horror stories from people with an “Afrin addiction.” Some people claim to have been addicted since the 70’s, with other claims ranging from a couple months to several years. No way could this happen to me…

I took what I thought would be my last pump of Afrin at 11:00am on Monday morning. Since I had read of the trouble I might be getting myself into that afternoon, I decided I would no longer use Afrin. By 8:00pm I began to feel slightly congested. I didn’t think much of it, and made my way over to my computer. By 10:00pm, I could not breathe out of my nose. When I would swallow my ears would pop, and when I would blow my nose the mucous would immediately replace itself.

I scrambled around the internet and read about what is known as the “rebound effect.” It occurred once you stopped taking Afrin (if you used it for more than the 3 days). The rebound effect consisted of your nasal passages pretty much shutting down, and not allowing any air to get through. The reason for that is because the Afrin was used to constrict the blood vessels in your nose so that the passages can get larger, allowing more air to get through. Once the Afrin was no longer in your system, the blood vessels grew larger than their original size, making it seem like mucous was blocking your passages. Though there was not anymore mucous in your nasal cavity than before, the small size of the passages made it nearly impossible to breathe out of your nose.

I read stories of people going cold turkey, and suffering for up to 3 weeks before their nasal passages returned to normal and they were able to have a good nights sleep again. I also read stories of people weaning themselves off of the Afrin by filling the bottle half way with Saline solution and slowly lowering their dose of Afrin, and increasing the Saline. The second option could also take weeks, and since I was only 5 days into my “addiction” I decided I would go cold turkey.

Midnight came and went, and there was no hope of me getting any sleep. It was now 2am I had to wake up at 6 for work. I filled my Afrin bottle halfway with a saline spray I had purchased and pumped a couple times into each nostril. The relief was not as great as when the Afrin was not watered down, but it was enough to allow me to get to sleep 10 minutes later. When I woke up I headed straight for CVS. I purchased Sudafed, Claritin-D (which had been ineffective for me last year), and a neti-pot (a pot used to clean out your nasal passages by pouring water in through one nostril and having it come out of the other). I used those all day and was able to get by without suffering the congestion I had the night before. I was able to sleep that night, and when I woke up I was no longer suffering. I continued to use the neti-pot and one 24 hour Claritin-D a day, and stopped taking Sudafed. It is now Sunday morning, and I no longer use the neti-pot or the Claritin. I have started taking a prescription spray called Veramyst (non-addictive), and a pill called Xyxal, which should eliminate any future problems I may have.

P.S

About 95% of the Jewish people I know go to an allergist. Out of all the other people I know, I would say less than 20% go to an allergist. I don’t know why that is, but I just found it interesting. I got my medicine prescribed by my primary care physician, not an allergist in case you were wondering.