What remedies are good for nasal congestion?

 

Nasal congestion or a “stuffy nose” or a “blocked nose” or whatever those around you call it happens when nasal and surrounding tissue and blood vessels become swollen with excess fluid, causing a plugged or blocked nose. This could also lead to a runny or drippy nose.

Nasal congestion can have many causes. Common colds, the flu, or allergies are all possible causes as they irritate or inflame the nasal tissues.

For adults, you should seek medical attention if your symptoms have lasted for longer than 7 days, you have a high fever, or you have blood in your nasal discharge.

For children, you should seek medical attention if your child is younger than 2 months and has a fever, or if your baby’s congestion is making it difficult to nurse them or is impacting their breathing.

While many cases of nasal congestion don’t necessitate a visit to the doctor, it’s still considered to be one of the worst symptoms of a cold and many people do whatever they can to obtain relief from it. Follow the below steps to help relieve your nasal congestion while you wait for it to go away on its own.

There are many home remedies for congestion out there as well as nasal sprays that help relieve nasal congestion. Here are a few of our recommendations to try.

· Drinking lots of fluids helps to clear your sinus passages. Even plain water can do the trick, but we recommend drinking warm, clear liquids such as herbal teas, broth and hot water with lemon to help ease your congestion, relieve sore throats and help mucus flow freely.

· Adding moisture to the air with a humidifier or vaporizer can provide relief. The added moisture in the air helps to thin the mucus in your nose. Both warm-mist and cool-mist humidifiers are equally effective, but cool-mist humidifiers are recommended for children to prevent accidental burns. Make sure you clean your humidifier regularly to prevent the growth of any mold or bacteria.

· Try and sleep with your head slightly elevated. Putting an extra pillow or two under your head will help to drain your sinuses, helping with nasal congestion relief.³

· A long, hot shower is good for decreasing nasal congestion. The steam from the shower helps open nasal passages, as well as improve your breathing. Just make sure the shower isn’t too hot, so you don’t burn yourself.

· A warm compress also works well to help decrease sinus congestion and the feeling of a stuffy nose. Just wet a washcloth with warm water (not too hot!) and apply it to your face. Some people opt to add sliced ginger or essential oils to the water before soaking the washcloth.⁴

· Try a saline spray, like the Otrivin Natural Severe Congestion Relief Moderate Stream Nasal Spray, to reduce sinus congestion and get rid of those pesky stuffy noses.⁵

· You can also go the medicated spray route and try Otrivin Medicated Complete Nasal Care. Its Triple Action Formula starts to:

1. Unblock your nose within minutes for up to 10 hours
2. Cleanses away mucus
3. Soothes dryness and irritation

For fast acting temporary relief of your nasal or sinus congestion due to colds and allergies.⁶

To find out more about how our medicated and natural nasal sprays work to relieve your nasal congestion click here.