Having a stuffy or clogged nose is often the cause of snoring. Using anti-snoring sprays is a common way to clear your nose, so you don’t snore as much. Not all nasal sprays are the same, and choosing the right kind is essential based on what’s making your nose stuffy.
This guide will talk about the different kinds of nasal sprays, so you can find one that works for you.
Types of Anti-Snoring Sprays
Antihistamine Nasal Sprays
In short, these are the best ways to treat allergies that make your nose stuffy. Antihistamine sprays could help you if you snore more in the spring and summer when pollen spores cause hay fever or if the dust in your home makes you feel stuffy and snore. An allergy is when your body’s immune system reacts to something that isn’t making you sick to fight off infection.
In this immune response, the body releases a chemical called histamine. When allergens are found, histamine and other chemicals rush to the area (usually the nose and throat, since this is where they are most likely to be breathed in) and bind to specific receptors to cause inflammation. Antihistamines help eliminate a stuffy nose by stopping histamine from binding to other cells, reducing inflammation.
Steroid Nasal Sprays
Like antihistamines, these work by lowering inflammation. They can be used to treat allergies, rhinitis that isn’t caused by allergies, or nasal polyps. A doctor often gives steroid nasal sprays to treat bad snoring, but they can also be bought without a prescription. The steroids in these nasal sprays are not the same as anabolic steroids, which are used to build muscle. Steroids in nasal sprays are copies of hormones made by glands above the kidneys.
Steroid nasal sprays work in different ways to reduce inflammation. This includes stopping the work of a key enzyme that helps the body make chemicals that cause inflammation.
If you are given steroid nasal sprays, remember that they probably won’t help immediately and usually start to work after a few uses. If your nose problems don’t disappear, keep using the spray even if you feel better.
Most people can use steroid nasal sprays because they don’t have any severe side effects and don’t hurt them in any way.
Anticholinergic Nasal Sprays
These anti-snoring sprays are the best way to treat a runny nose. They cut down on the mucus your nose makes and can be used for allergic and non-allergic causes of nasal blockage. Unlike antihistamines and steroid sprays, anticholinergic sprays won’t help with swelling and congestion. Most of the time, the side effects are mild. Anticholinergic sprays block receptors that generally cause the mucus glands in the nose to open up and produce mucus.
Decongestant Nasal Sprays
Blood vessels get more significant when they dilate, which makes it harder for air to flow freely through the nose. Decongestant nasal sprays open up your nasal passages by narrowing these blood vessels.
Decongestants can quickly clear up a stuffy nose; most of them can be bought over the counter. They are only good for some, though. Avoid using decongestant nasal sprays if you have high blood pressure, are a child, or are a pregnant or nursing woman. Decongestants can be used for a short time, no more than a week, a few times a day. This is because using too many decongestants can lead to rebound congestion when the spray starts to have the opposite effect and makes your nose stuffy again.
Mast Cell Inhibitors
This kind of nasal spray is suitable for people with seasonal allergies who know when their symptoms will start. Mast cell inhibitors are used to stop signs from happening, so they must be taken a few weeks before they start. Like antihistamines, these sprays stop mast cells, a type of immune cell, from breaking down and releasing histamine, which causes inflammation.
Conclusion
Many things can cause a stuffy nose, such as colds, infections, hay fever, dust allergies, chronic nasal inflammation, and rhinitis that is not caused by allergies. One anti-snoring solution won’t work for every type of nose blockage, so it’s essential to find the right one.
