So - situation goes like this - I started using Afrin after I had a severe head cold about 4 years ago and within a few days became physically dependent on it. Although there are warnings on the box about only using it for 3 days, of course I ignored that - and my life/sleep/etc... has revolved around having Afrin on hand at all times or else suffering the withdrawals. (Withdrawal from Afrin pretty much means your sinus passages swell shut completely, you get the worst throbbing headache you can imagine, your nose leaks disgusting fluids because you cannot blow your nose OR sniffle thanks to your airway being swollen shut, you can't equalize the pressure in your ears, sleep becomes impossible, etc...) So you end up taking more Afrin to reverse those effects and in turn when you stop the Afrin, those symptoms come back, so you need more Afrin, -forever and ever...)

In an effort to become an overall healthier person, stopping this cycle. At first I tried to cut it down by diluting it, that didn't work. Then I tried by only using it in one nostril at a time... that didn't work. So yesterday morning, I threw away all my bottles of Afrin and I'm going cold turkey. The symptoms are horrendous and I'm remarkably uncomfortable, but I will persevere!!

I can't even go out in public right now, let alone work out thanks to my face leaking!

My question to all of you is this:

Have any of you had addiction/dependency on nasal sprays? Have you stopped them? How long does this congestion last?! Googling quite a bit, I've learned some people require high-dose steroids to lessen the symptoms, but even that doesn't help 100% and I haven't been able to find anything definitive about how LONG this misery lasts... Any personal experience??

(One thing is I can't taste a thing and you could wave a hunk of cheesecake in my face right now and I wouldn't even want it...)

Sorry you are experiencing this. I have heard naal sprays can be addicting. I think , like any addiction you will have a withdrawal period, don't know how long it lasts. I would persevere, don't let the Afrin win.

I have had the same problem on and off, for years! I absolutely can NOT stand having a clogged nose. So, having sinus problems, it seems I always end up stuck on the nasal sprays. I do use Flonase every morning and that helps, but when the afrin thing gets out of hand I try to wean myself by using a saline spray and gradually reducing the use of the Afrin. Shorter or lighter sprays of Afrin with the saline right before or after. It does seem to help me get away from the Afrin within a few days to a week. Hth.

I weaned off it one nostril at a time. At night, especially, was hard for me, because I just CANNOT sleep with a stuffy nose. For a couple of weeks, I'd only spray it in one nostril (can't remember... my right, maybe?), and then once my other nostril had adjusted to not having any (it took awhile), I quit the other.

I feel for you, though. It's a vicious cycle. Honestly, I couldn't have gone cold turkey. One at a time was the only way to deal with it for me.

I have never experienced this, but know others who have. My only suggestion is Saline sprays.
Having sinus troubles myself I feel for you. I can not stand a clogged up head. Be strong and beat the Afrin!

Have you talked about this with your doctor, or at least your pharmacist? Are you sure it is safe to withdraw "cold turkey?"

Being an otc med, I would hope so (but otc meds aren't always any safer than prescription meds).

I always worry when I hear people deciding to discontinue a medication they've become dependent on without talking to their doctor about it.

Sudden withdrawal from some medications can be dangerous, not just uncomfortable.


There also may be a prescription medication that can ease some of your symptoms without causing a new dependency.

Oh yeah, its totally safe to stop cold turkey. (I'm an RN) It's just that the rebound swelling in your face is EXTREMELY uncomfortable.

Good news though, I have some slight airflow through my left nostril! I see the light at the end of the tunnel (hopefully!) haha

Awesome (on both counts).

That sounds horrible. I had no idea that could even happen with nasal sprays! I don't use them, but I do have allergies and have thought about it in the past. I'll definitely be keeping this story in mind for the future - thanks for posting about it, and glad you're starting to feel better!

After a decade of carrying an afrin bottle in my purse, having one on the nightstand, having one in my desk at work, and in my car, using them several times a day, for years, just to breath, I knew I had a problem. I finally went to the doctor. I was given some steroids and that did clear it up within a few days.

I tried quitting on my own, and had no luck, in fact, I had wicked terrible dreams about suffocating.

Good Luck, you can beat this!

My sister-in-law was addicted to Otravin and I cannot recall how she got off it but she ended up with ulcers as a result. They changed the active ingredient (oxytetracyclin) in it because the problem became so widespread. The new ingredient (xylometazoline) is just as addictive but maybe the side effects are less damaging. Afrin has oxymetazoline so going to guess there is not much difference in it

I did not realise how dangerous these sprays were until then and resolved never to use them.

I wish you all the best in beating this. I know it is hard (understatement) but you are saving your health, just like you are with losing weight.

I used to be dependent on the Vicks inhalers.

You can beat this!

Thanks for all the support guys!! I'm starting to be able to breath a little, not consistently, but enough to see the light at the end of the tunnel!!

Just say no to nasal sprays!! :-)

I've been addicted to nasal sprays (Afrin is just one of mannnny!!!) since I was about 15 years old. I'm 48 now.

I've successfully gotten off the "nose candy" (as I call it!) 3 times in my life. It wasn't easy. But then, a simple head cold or nasty flu bug, and WHAM!-right back on it.

I keep one everywhere. Bedside is a given! - one in the living room, one in the bathroom, one in the kitchen! - one in my car, one in my desk at work, one in my purse.

I saw an ETN specialist a couple years ago. Diagnosed with "deviated septum" - ha! I knew that. I really did! A nice little surgery & lots of pain could end my nose candy addiction. But nay, I say! Not even wanting to go there!

So I'll just "stay addicted"... at least for a little while longer. Maybe I'll kick the habit again someday, and maybe, if I do, it will be the last time I have to do so. But right now? Breathing? Kinda important to me.

Good luck with your nose candy quitting! I'm cheering for you!