Medicine causing congestion to get worse??

[kim1970]

About 8 years ago I saw an ENT because my nose was completely impacted. He said it was from the decongestant I was taking (Allegra-D) and took me off that medicine and gave me a nose spray to use. I dont remember the name of the nose spray.

I have since moved to a different state and this year my allergies were bad in the spring time. I started taking either Benadryl or Zyrtec off and on. The past month I have been taking one Zyrtec every morning. The past few day now though my sinus and nose are completely impacted again. No other allergy signs. Its so bad that when I try to talk, I am blowing bubbles out of my nose.


Is this congestion caused by taking "too much" or "prolonged" decongestants? What do I do now???

[dolysods]

If you are only taking plain benadryl or plain zyrtec, there is no decongestant to unplug you. They will only dry you up. Some people get rebound congestion.. some doctors do not believe in giving/recommending decongestants for more than 2-3 days at a time. My new doc is one of them. Hate it! I've been getting by with taking a mucionex D or sudafed 12hr in the morning.

Have you ever irrigated your sinuses? I find it helps out a lot! i use a neti pot with sinucleanse packets and glycerin. I use it twice a day. GCSmith uses the sinucleanse squeeze bottle. I haven't gotten up the nerve to try the more force yet. I will though if this ever stops working for me.

[kim1970]

After spending a good amount of time reading the forums here, I ran out and grabbed some 4-hr sudafed (non-drowsy) and took one on my way back to work. Within 15 minutes I am totally noticing a difference.

I am going to do some research on the sinus irrigation, it sounds very helpful. I am 37 yrs old and have been plagued by allergies and sinus problems since I was about 7 yrs old. I even went for allergy shots for several years as a child, but it was unsuccessful. My allergies have become worse over the years. Its at the point now where I cannot eat any fresh fruit or I have that anaphylactic (spell?) shock problem where my throat swells closed.

[dolysods]

wow! i know my allergy issues did not start until my 30's. I've always had sinus issues. I wish i would have been brave enough to try irrigation 20 years ago. If you search on how to use a neti pot there are plenty of videos. CVS carries a plastic one with 20 packets for about $15. It has even helped with some sinus headaches

[gcsmithjr]

One note to this conversation - oral decongestants like Sudafed and Sudafed PE do not cause rebound congestion. It is only the decongestant sprays like Afrin that can cause rebound congestion. You can take Sudafed (or things like Claritin-D and Mucinex-D) for extended periods of time without worrying about rebound congestion.

There are also two common types of oral decongestants - pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine. Pseudoephedrine seems to work better for me (and is available in 12-hour decongestants).