{"id":223296,"date":"2026-01-08T14:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/223296\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T14:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:04:09","slug":"warning-over-blocked-nose-spray-that-can-actually-worsen-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/223296\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning over blocked nose spray that can actually worsen symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Individuals experiencing blocked noses <\/a>are being advised to limit the use of nasal decongestant sprays<\/a> to a maximum of seven days, as prolonged use risks worsening symptoms.<\/p>\n

A recent poll underscores this concern, finding that almost six in 10 pharmacists report patients are unaware of the dangers of extended use.<\/p>\n

While offering short-term relief for colds<\/a>, allergies, and sinusitis, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society<\/a> (RPS) warns that using sprays beyond a week can cause ‘rebound congestion’.<\/p>\n

This preventable condition, also known as rhinitis medicamentosa, causes symptoms to worsen, with patients becoming dependent on sprays to breathe more easily.<\/p>\n

An RPS survey of 300 pharmacists found 59% think the public is not aware of this risk, while almost three-quarters (74%) said packaging should be clearer about the seven-day limit.<\/p>\n

\"Using<\/p>\n

Using nasal sprays for longer than the prescribed time limit can cause congestion symptoms to return (PA Archive)<\/p>\n

Almost two-thirds (63%) said they had intervened in cases of suspected overuse.<\/p>\n

Professor Amira Guirguis, chief scientist at the RPS, said: “Nasal decongestant sprays can be helpful for short-term relief, but using them for longer than seven days can make your congestion significantly worse.<\/p>\n

“Our research shows that many people are unaware of this risk, which means they may continue using these sprays without realising they could be prolonging their symptoms.<\/p>\n

“We’d like to see clearer warnings on the packaging which you can’t miss and greater awareness of the seven-day limit. If your congestion lasts more than a week, speak to your pharmacist. There are safe and effective alternative options to help you manage your symptoms.”<\/p>\n

The RPS urged patients to always follow the instructions on the packaging of nasal sprays and to seek advice from pharmacists if congestion continues after seven days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Individuals experiencing blocked noses are being advised to limit the use of nasal decongestant sprays to a maximum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[133780,134,524,133777,133778,111,139,69,133751,133750,133779],"class_list":["post-223296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-congestion-symptoms","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-nasal-decongestant","tag-nasal-sprays","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rebound-congestion","tag-royal-pharmaceutical-society","tag-rps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}