Do nasal sprays damage nasal pillows?

[Hope1952]

I'm wondering if using Flonase, Vicks, Nasacort, etc. might cause the nasal pillows to break down more quickly. If it's bad for the septum, it's gotta be bad for silicone, right? I've had terrible luck with my Liberty nasal pillows, but I love the mask and I need to breathe for cpap therapy to work. So I've decided to start using the spray earlier in the day (instead of bedtime) to see if that's an improvement. Has anyone noticed a connection between the two?

[Janknitz]

It's a good idea to use nasal sprays a few hours before bedtime so there is no residue on the pillows. I even do my saline spray at least 2 hours before bed if I can so my nose isn't quite as wet. I'm getting tired of feeling like a dog with a wet nose all the time.

[jdm2857]

I don't know about all of the ingredients in nasal sprays, but the decongestants work by causing vasoconstriction -- shrinking of the blood vessels in the lining of the nose. Prolonged reduced blood flow is the cause of nasal septum problems, and this effect obviously won't affect silicone.

[SleepingUgly]

If it's bad for the septum, it's gotta be bad for silicone, right?

Hope, did you get this from my post? I'm personally going to look into this whole "bad for the septum" thing further, as no one ever told me that. I had my kids on nasal steroids at various times, and have considered putting one of them on it chronically, so I definitely need to look into this further.

[jdm2857]

Here's a very comprehensive listing of the chemical resistance of silicone.

http://www.cicoil.com/pdf/ChemC2.pdf

Note that vinegar is acetic acid and bleach is sodium hypochlorite.

[Physician]

I'm wondering if using Flonase, Vicks, Nasacort, etc. might cause the nasal pillows to break down more quickly. If it's bad for the septum, it's gotta be bad for silicone, right? I've had terrible luck with my Liberty nasal pillows, but I love the mask and I need to breathe for cpap therapy to work. So I've decided to start using the spray earlier in the day (instead of bedtime) to see if that's an improvement. Has anyone noticed a connection between the two?

The two primary vasoconstrictors in OTC nasal sprays will not cause a problem for nasal pillows. Oxymetazoline as found in Afrin®, is excellent. But the sprays much be used probably, and most patients do not.

[SleepingUgly]

But the sprays much be used probably, and most patients do not.

Can you say this part again? Do you know anything about these sprays' effects on the septum? (Is this within the purview of your medical specialty, assuming you practice medicine?)

[Hope1952]

If it's bad for the septum, it's gotta be bad for silicone, right?

Hope, did you get this from my post? I'm personally going to look into this whole "bad for the septum" thing further, as no one ever told me that. I had my kids on nasal steroids at various times, and have considered putting one of them on it chronically, so I definitely need to look into this further.

I don't remember but in looking at your recent posts, I don't think so. I think I got if from someone who'd just had surgery or was seeing a doctor about a thinning septum problem which the doctor said was caused by steroid nasal sprays. I'm going to get my cpap therapy working consistently and then think about the potential side affects of nasal sprays to my nose.

[Physician]

But the sprays much be used probably, and most patients do not.

Can you say this part again? Do you know anything about these sprays' effects on the septum?

Bad for the septum ? Nope. You are thinking of cocaine, a more intense vasoconstrictor which is applied to the septum much more than the turbinates (folds of nasal lining). I have NEVER seen a perforated nasal septum from OTC nasal sprays, only from cocaine.

The problem with the vasoconstrictor sprays is "rebound vasodilation" in which after three to 14 days of use, the rebound congestion (hyperemia) is worse than the pre-treatment level. This is treated by:

1. continued use with progressive dilution of the nasal spray and/or
2. nasal steroid sprays and/or
3. brief course of systemic steroids (such as Prednisone) and/or
4. alternating spraying nostrils with the vasoconstrictor spray and/or
5. suffering until the reactive nasal congestion terminates.

If you have a URL to share which documents nasal septal perforation from the use of Neo-synephrine and/or oxymetazoline alone, please post that link.

[SleepingUgly]

If it's bad for the septum, it's gotta be bad for silicone, right?

Hope, did you get this from my post? I'm personally going to look into this whole "bad for the septum" thing further, as no one ever told me that. I had my kids on nasal steroids at various times, and have considered putting one of them on it chronically, so I definitely need to look into this further.

I don't remember but in looking at your recent posts, I don't think so. I think I got if from someone who'd just had surgery or was seeing a doctor about a thinning septum problem which the doctor said was caused by steroid nasal sprays. I'm going to get my cpap therapy working consistently and then think about the potential side affects of nasal sprays to my nose.

Yes, that was me. I had septoplasty and the surgeon was surprised by how thin my septum cartilage was (and maybe that the bones in my nose were brittle?). She said it was caused by long-term nasal steroid use. I'll have to see if I can find any research on it.

[Hope1952]

[quote="Janknitz"]It's a good idea to use nasal sprays a few hours before bedtime so there is no residue on the pillows.quote]

Good idea. Thanks!

[jdm2857]

I've had good luck with Afrin for occasional bouts of congestion by using it once a day at bedtime. By allowing its effects to wear off during the day I've used it for a week without rebound problems.

But that's just me. As usual, YMMV.

[Physician]

I'm wondering if using Flonase, Vicks, Nasacort, etc. might cause the nasal pillows to break down more quickly. If it's bad for the septum, it's gotta be bad for silicone, right?

Not necessarily. One cannot compare live tissue to silicone. Live tissue responds to vasoconstrictors and lysozyme stabilitizers. Silicone may not.