{"id":408133,"date":"2026-05-02T09:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/408133\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T09:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:10:14","slug":"urgent-five-day-warning-to-anyone-using-common-medicine-for-blocked-nose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/408133\/","title":{"rendered":"Urgent ‘five-day’ warning to anyone using common medicine for blocked nose"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MHRA has issued urgent new advice to people using nasal decongestant sprays\"Woman<\/p>\n

The MHRA has issued a warning(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The UK’s medicines regulator has issued a new limit on how long people with blocked noses should use nasal decongestant sprays for.<\/p>\n

Decongestant sprays are popular medicines for people with colds, allergies and sinusitis as they can provide short-term relief from stuffiness. However, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned that prolonged use risks making the problem worse.<\/p>\n

It has now limited the use of sprays containing xylometazoline and oxymetazoline to a maximum of five days, warning that excessive use can cause ‘rebound congestion’.<\/p>\n

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

Thao Huynh, head of respiratory imaging and critical care at the MHRA, said: \u201cIf your nose is still blocked after five days of using a nasal spray, it could be caused by overuse of the product, rather than your original symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cContinuing to use it could make the problem worse. Instead, talk to a healthcare professional about stopping use of the product and whether alternative treatments could help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese nasal sprays are safe and effective treatments when used as directed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to always read the Patient Information Leaflet that comes with your medicine and information on the outer packaging.\u201d<\/p>\n

The regulator said that all new packaging and leaflets for such sprays and drops will now state the duration of use is not to exceed five days.<\/p>\n

But it said that changes to the product information will take months to implement, as it urged patients to follow updated guidance.<\/p>\n

Professor Amira Guirguis, chief scientist at the Royal College of Pharmacy, welcomed the update, adding: \u201cWe support clearer product information and improved packaging, alongside consistent public messaging, to improve awareness that these products are for short-term use only and to avoid preventable harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previous guidance urged patients to only use nasal decongestant sprays for seven days<\/a>, but the MHRA has since updated this in line with advice from Expert Advisory Groups to the Commission on Human Medicines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The MHRA has issued urgent new advice to people using nasal decongestant sprays The MHRA has issued a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[134,524,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-408133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408133","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=408133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}