They Want You to Waste It – The “Right” Way to Spray Nasonex Nasal Spray
February 15th, 2008The Right Way To Spray NASONEX Nasal Spray
This is not exactly how my doctor told me how to do it. I’m thinking it’s because they are an evil pharmaceutical, purposefully driving up costs to users. Then I take the tin foil off.
Here’s my description of what my ENT doc told me:
1) Pre-nostril spray, make sure pump is primed to deliver the right dosage. You want a good squirt, not a half-squirt. This means you pump the thing a couple of times to get it ready.
2) Tilt head WAY forward. Look to Australia if you are in the Northern hemisphere, Alaska if you are in the Southern hemisphere.
3) Insert tip into a nostril and point it slightly toward OUTER wall of nose. One spray. Do not inhale.
4) Keep head down for 30 seconds. Your nose might drip. If your cilia are working properly, they will move the medicine through the nasal passage and distribute the medicine. Cilia rule, apparently.
5) Repeat for other nostril.
Wait 15 minutes and do it again.
After a couple of weeks, one shot per nostril should do the trick.
The explanation for this was that the medicine is designed to be absorbed by nasal tissue, not digestive tissue, so if you inhale it to draw it further back into the sinus area, you lose most of it down your throat and don’t get the right dosage to the right area of your body. Good luck and your mileage may vary. o
disclaimer note: This advice is meant for entertainment purposes. Consult a physician. Do not taunt.
Think it is hard to self administer?
Try administering it to a 3 year old! Good Times!
Have to say, I’m breathing better already with the simple “look to Australia,”
Thank you for the PSA, and for helping me to better stick it to the pharma companies.
Nasonex sucks. You should try Veramyst instead.
Hmmm, I’ve been using Nasonex for 2 or 3 years and this isn’t the way the allergy doc told me to do it. I also inhale it up (I’m pretty sure he told me to…but it was a long time ago that he showed me, so maybe not). I don’t even notice a taste, but whatever you do don’t lie down after you squirt it. Then you’ll taste it and want to puke. It works pretty well….but maybe I’m doing it wrong and that is why some days my nose is still like Niagara Falls. I will try this method.
Neti pot works! I’ve been using ‘neti potting’ for a couple of yrs and haven’t had a sore throat, cold or flu since! (I used to get sick every few weeks during the cold season.) It can be a little tricky to use, so keep practicing and you won’t regret it. Good luck and good health to you!
Go to this link for Nasonex’ directions; also, if you use either the neti pots or simply snort salt water first (1 tsp salt mixed in 8 oz warm water, cup hand, pour some solution in hand and snort; do several times), it seems to help clear everything out!
[And if your sinus' are just clogged or your nose stuffy, spray with Afrin first, then snort the salt water--will really clean things out and can help prevent infections.]
http://www.nasonex.com/nasx/application?namespace=main&origin=all_nav_left.jsp&event=content_display&event_input=waytospray&category=any
Who knew? I will try that. Also like neti pots, and the new under-pressure saline spray with the nasal nozzle (SO much better than Ocean!!!!).
Speaking of Dr.’s instructions, my ENT in Los Angeles said to use Afrin thusly:
two sprays in each nostril, then lie with a steaming hot wet compress covering nostrils, nose and eyes for 15 minutes, then 2 sprays each nostril again. Obviously this is not to be done but very rarely, during those horrible sinus headaches when you want to drill a hole into your head. After this, however, you can SMELL to Australia and you don’t hope for a speedy death.
the other reason to go to the outer wall? deviated septum.
And I am not sure how many times I need to preach Neil Med Sinus Rinse over neti pots.
http://neilmed.com/
You do the sinus rinse first (clear out the gunk), THEN the nasonex (shrink the membranes). I am queen of this stuff. I can draw you diagrams.
My doc gave me basically the same advice. Didn’t mention Australia, but he did say to remember, “Nose to the toes, veer to the ears.” Cute. He said the reason to veer toward the ears is because if too much steroids come into contact with your delicate nasal bones/cartilage it can weaken them over time. So you want it to go where it will do the most good. Didn’t know about the no sniffing rule, though.
Apparently I have been doing this all wrong for the last nine years…
No wonder I’m such a nasally mess…
Get thee to a Neti Pot. I know soooooo many people who swear by them.
I was addicted to nasal spray AND Visine. Both create the rebound effect, big time, so you have to keep using them. To get un-addicted to nasal spray, I started squirting the evil potion in one nostril only. After some amount of days, the unsquirted nostril cleared up on its own. Then I stopped squirting the other nostril. Wishing you the best.