Drops in the nose from a cold: the pros and cons

Vasoconstrictor drops in the nose from a cold

Drops with a vasoconstrictive effect are the most popular treatment for the common cold in young children. The same drugs, only in the form of a spray, are used for adults and children over six years of age.

Their principle of action is quite simple: when applied to the mucous membrane lining the nose from the inside, a pronounced constriction of blood vessels occurs. The edema subsides, and the person can again breathe through the nose, since there will be no barriers to air entering the lungs for the duration of the drops.

Another effect that vasoconstrictor drops have is to reduce the rate of mucus production. It becomes not so liquid and it is easier for a person to breathe.

However, it is worth remembering that any instruction attached to all drops that have a vasoconstrictive effect warns users against long-term use of funds. The time period that allows you to use drops and sprays without fear of developing addiction is from 3 days to a week.

With episodic use, side effects, as a rule, do not develop. Dangerous long-term and regular use. A peculiar dependence of the nasal vessels on the main active substance that is part of the drug develops. When it is applied, they narrow, when a dose is missed, they expand, edema occurs and a person cannot breathe normally. Sometimes there is an increase in puffiness even from the drops themselves.

To avoid such serious consequences, it is necessary to properly treat a runny nose as soon as it begins to develop.

Indeed, in addition to addiction, vasoconstrictor drugs can lead to:

• To malnutrition of the nasal mucosa (constant use of drops in chronic rhinitis).

• To thinning of the walls of blood vessels, increasing their fragility. This leads to an increased risk of injury. So, the vessels can be damaged even with a rise in blood pressure, which will lead to nosebleeds. (read also: nosebleeds – first aid and treatment)

• To arrhythmia, heart palpitations, headaches, sleep disturbance, nausea, depression – all these are side effects that can occur with an overdose of the drug.

In addition, it is forbidden to use any drops in the nose that have a vasoconstrictive effect in hypertension, with hyperthyroidism, with heart and vascular disease. If a woman is breastfeeding, then it is worth consulting with a specialist in advance whether she can use this or that drug to stop a runny nose.

The basic rules to be followed during the use of drugs with a vasoconstrictive effect:

• They must not be used regularly.

• The application must be justified. The drug should be administered only when breathing is seriously difficult.

• Feeling the symptoms of a runny nose, you can try to eliminate puffiness with the help of breathing exercises and massage, without the use of drops.

• During the day, it is better to use drugs that retain their effect for four hours, since a state of complete congestion during wakefulness is rarely observed.

• At the time of night rest, you can use the drug of prolonged action (up to 12 hours).

• To the extent possible, the time of contact with the drug and the frequency of its use should be minimized. It is important to remember that it is most difficult to breathe during the initial stage of the disease.

• When improvement comes, you should try to do without drops. Inhalations and the introduction of a weak saline solution into the nose can help alleviate the symptoms of the disease and speed up recovery.

Xylometazoline

Most often, to facilitate breathing during a runny nose, drops from a runny nose with the main active ingredient called xylometazoline are used.

There are several drugs with different names, but in each of them the basic component is xylometazoline:

• Galazolin. It can be purchased in various dosage forms: in drops and as a gel for use by adults and children.

• Spray from the common cold “For the Nose”.

• Spray from the common cold “Rinonorm”.

• Spray from the common cold “Xymelin”.

As for sprays, they allow you to more accurately dose the drug, due to the convenience and ease of use. Savings are another benefit of using sprays.

In addition, there are significantly fewer side effects among people who use spray preparations to get rid of the common cold. As for the duration of action of all drugs based on xylometazoline, it averages four hours.

Oxymetazoline

Oxymetazoline is another drug that has a vasoconstrictor effect and effectively helps get rid of the common cold. Sprays based on it act for a long time. The effect after a single application can last up to 12 hours.

However, before use, it is important to make sure that the patient has no contraindications to its introduction into the nasal cavity:

• The period of gestation;

• Diabetes;

• Age up to one year;

• Disorders in the work of the kidneys.

Medicines that are produced on the basis of oxymetazoline:

• Nazivin. It can be purchased separately for use by adults and separately for use by children of different ages. The composition of the drug remains unchanged, however, the concentration of the main active substance is selected taking into account the age characteristics of different categories of patients. For adults, Nazivin can be purchased both in the form of a spray and in the form of drops. For children, the drug is available only in the form of drops.

• Fairvex spray.

• Spray Nazol. The drug Nazol Advance, in addition to having oxymetazoline in its composition, is also supplemented with components that reduce the feeling of dryness in the nasal passages.

• Spray Fazin, which is produced by a Russian manufacturer.

Naphazoline

Naphazoline acts as a vasoconstrictor for no more than six hours. Medicines produced on its basis are the most inexpensive of the entire range of similar drugs, among them:

• Drops, emulsion, nasal spray are all forms of a drug called Sanorin. In addition to the main active ingredient – naphazoline, this drug is additionally enriched with vaseline oil, eucalyptus essential oil and boric acid. Due to these components, the effectiveness of Sanorin increases and its side effects decrease.

• Drops from the common cold Naphthyzin.

Modern drugs that can have a vasoconstrictor effect are:

• Tysin, which can be purchased in the form of a spray or drops. The main active ingredient in it is tetrazoline, which belongs to the group of imidazolines. It is prescribed in pediatric practice for children who have crossed the age limit of two years. The duration of its action is quite large and can reach 8 hours. Often it is this tetrazoline-based drug that can help resume breathing when other remedies are ineffective.

• Farial, the active substance in which is indanazoline. The drug is produced in the form of a spray. It should not be used by children under the age of seven and people with closed glaucoma. 

Moisturizing nasal drops

Drops from the common cold, aimed at moisturizing the nasal mucosa, are not drugs. They do not have a therapeutic, but rather an auxiliary function. Thanks to their use, it is possible to increase the properties of mucus and make its separation easier.

The maximum effect can be achieved if moisturizing products are used in combination with other drugs for the treatment of the common cold. This is especially true in the treatment of chronic atrophic rhinitis.

Moisturizers are prepared on the basis of water from mineral springs or from sea water. They include not only salts, but also a variety of trace elements – iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, copper. They help the cilia of the nasal mucosa move more actively, normalize the functioning of the glands located in the nasal passage.

Moisturizing agents can be used almost without restriction. They do not contain ingredients that can cause side effects. Therefore, if the obstacle to the normal flow of air through the nasal passages is not swelling of the mucosa, but an abundance of mucus, then it will be more effective to rinse the nose with saline than to use drops or sprays with a vasoconstrictive effect.

Moisturizers to get rid of the common cold:

• Aqualor.

• Salin.

• Aqua Maris.

• Marimer.

Nose drops for edema and allergies

In order to increase the effect of the use of vasoconstrictor drops, manufacturers add substances that have an antihistamine effect to them. This helps to eliminate swelling and relieves allergic reactions, if any. Significant relief from the use of such funds can be obtained by a person suffering from allergic rhinitis, but their use in colds is not excluded.

Among these drugs:

• Vibrocilmanufactured by a Swiss company. It is often used in pediatric practice to relieve the symptoms of nasal congestion in children. This drug can be found in three forms of release, it is released: as a gel, as a spray and as drops. It is not recommended to use more than seven days in a row.

• Sanorin-Analerginmanufactured by Czech manufacturers. The drug has one form of release – only in the form of drops. An overdose of this drug can cause a feeling of drowsiness and a slow reaction. Therefore, it is recommended to bury it before a night’s rest. Also, like Vibrocil, this drug should not be used for more than a week.

• Rinofluimucil – This is a new drug of combined action, which is produced by an Italian manufacturer. It is able to facilitate nasal breathing by thinning the thick secretion separated from the nose. In addition, the drug has a mild vasoconstrictor effect. It is best to start using this remedy when the runny nose has lasted for the third or fourth day.

• Koldakt – tablets from the common cold from an Indian manufacturer. When taking the drug, it should be borne in mind that it can cause increased drowsiness.

• Orinol – a combined drug for the common cold produced in tablet form. It can make breathing easier, but also causes drowsiness.

Antimicrobial drops and ointments for the common cold

When it is necessary, in addition to the vasoconstrictor effect, to obtain an additional antimicrobial effect, you can use combined preparations, including:

• Dr. Tice Nazollin. It contains not only xylometazoline, but also eucalyptus oil, which has an antimicrobial effect.

• Pinosol. This drug is available in the form of a spray, drops, cream, ointment and bath capsules. The composition of the drug includes a mixture of various oils, which are obtained from medicinal plants. These drops are not addictive and can help fight many bacteria and viruses.

• Bactroban, the drug is available in the form of an ointment. The main active ingredient has activity against staphylococci. It is advisable to use the ointment when a purulent discharge from the nose appears, with a long-lasting runny nose. When buying a drug, it is important to clarify that the patient needs a remedy for nasal administration, since there is Bactroban in the form of an ointment, but for the treatment of skin diseases. It is forbidden to lay it in the nose.

• Polydexa with phenylephrine – This is a drug of combined action, which is able to have an anti-inflammatory effect and a vasoconstrictor effect at the same time. It contains an antibiotic and phenylephrine as a vasoconstrictor component. Release form – spray. However, Polidek is not suitable for the treatment of viral rhinitis, it cannot be used during gestation, with kidney problems and during lactation. Age limit – 2,6 years.

Hormonal drops from the common cold

If the patient suffers from allergic rhinitis, accompanied by a severe course, then it is possible to use nasal sprays with a hormonal component.

Among these drugs:

• Nasonex. This spray is fast acting. The effect can be felt already 12 hours after the first injection of the drug. The convenience of using the product lies in the fact that it is equipped with a manual dispenser, this avoids overdose. Since the drug is administered locally, it does not affect the body. It can be used in children from the age of three.

• Baconase. Can be used from 6 years old.

• Nasobek. children are allowed to take the drug after reaching 6 years.

• Flixonase. reception is possible after the patient reaches 3 years.

It is worth remembering that drugs with a hormonal component can be used only after consulting a doctor. The fact is that with uncontrolled prolonged use, it is possible to reduce the immune defense of the nasal mucosa. This will become a fertile environment for the development of bacteria and mycotic organisms.

Herbal drops for colds

Herbal remedies for the common cold include a variety of essential oils, most often menthol or peppermint oil. When injected into the nasal cavity, the patient receives a refreshing and antiseptic effect. Menthol is unable to eliminate mucosal edema, but its use creates the effect of facilitating breathing by influencing the cold receptors of the nose.

Sinupret is a drug of combined action. It contributes to liquefaction of sputum, relieves inflammation, has an expectorant and mucolytic effect. Due to the reduction of swelling, there is an easier discharge of exudate from the paranasal sinuses.

Sinupret can be used from early childhood – from two years. It has antiviral activity, increases the resistance of the nasal and throat mucosa to the effects of pathogenic agents. You can find the drug in drops and dragees. 

Antiviral nose drops for a cold

Nose drops from a runny nose, which have an antiviral effect, are an excellent means of preventing and treating colds in the initial stages of the development of a viral infection. They affect the reproduction of viruses, thanks to the active components isolated from donor blood and created by genetic engineering.

When there is a threat of infection, such means can be used as a prophylactic. Their reception continues until the moment when the threat is eliminated.

As for the treatment of viral rhinitis, the funds should be used immediately after the onset of the first symptoms.

Antiviral drugs include:

• Grippferon – a solution for instillation into the nasal cavity.

• Arbidol in the form of capsules.

• Tamiflu capsules.

• Remantadine in tablet form.

• Kipferon in the form of rectal suppositories.

• Viferon in the form of rectal suppositories.

Drops from the common cold based on silver

Drops containing silver will help relieve inflammation, have an antiseptic effect, effectively and quickly eliminate a protracted runny nose. It is also advisable to use them in the initial stages of chronic hypertrophic rhinitis.

These funds include:

• Protargol in 2% solution, release form – drops. 

• Collargol in 2% solution, release form – drops.

Both drugs are based on colloidal silver. When it comes into contact with the inflamed mucosa, there is an astringent effect, as well as a mild anti-inflammatory effect.

Antibacterial cold drops

If a runny nose is complicated by the addition of a bacterial flora, or a complication occurs in the form of sinusitis or sinusitis, then it is advisable to take antibacterial agents.

Among those:

• Framacetin, aerosol.

• Fusafunzhin, aerosol.

• Mupirocin, is available in the form of drops and ointment for the nose.

When the drug is used in the form of an aerosol, its smallest particles penetrate into the deeply located sections of the nose. They have an antibacterial effect, relieve inflammation and destroy bacteria. Aerosols are available for use even by women who are breastfeeding, as it acts locally without affecting the body.

When to contact an ENT doctor?

How to treat the chronic form of the common cold depends on the etiology of the disease. Most often, the use of medications is required in combination with the use of methods aimed at strengthening the body. Physiotherapy procedures are not superfluous. If complex treatment does not give the desired effect, then it is necessary to resort to surgical intervention.

Modern medicine is increasingly using a laser to treat the common cold. It allows you to eliminate swelling of the mucosa, reduce the amount of exudate, and facilitate breathing.

When the cause of a chronic runny nose lies in allergies, the help of an allergist consultation is necessary. He will perform the necessary diagnostic procedures and select the optimal therapeutic regimen.

If a runny nose lasts more than a month, this is the reason for contacting an otolaryngologist.

In addition, a visit to a specialist should not be postponed in the following cases:

• After 14 days of active treatment, nasal breathing does not return to normal;

• There are periodic headaches;

• Disturbed by lacrimation and pain in the eyes;

• The general condition is broken;

• The contents discharged from the nose are purulent.

Such symptoms clearly indicate the development of complications and require professional treatment.

There are many medicines for the treatment of the common cold, but they must be used wisely. Do not use all the drugs at once, hoping that some will still produce a therapeutic effect. This is dangerous as the development of complications and side effects. The optimal start of the treatment of the common cold is an appeal to a specialist, and not an independent selection of drugs.