Dr. Chen Zhiling, deputy director of the Department of Otolaryngology at Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, was visiting the clinic yesterday when a patient pulled out a small medicine bottle from his pocket and showed it to him. “What’s going on here? If I don’t use this nasal drops immediately my nose is completely blocked and I can’t breathe through.” The patient said the medicine made him a little worried because the original drops twice a day was fine, but now it has grown to require drops every two or three hours.
The patient, surnamed Yang, 50 years old, has been suffering from chronic rhinitis. Two years ago, he heard a friend recommend that as long as you use a nose drops, nose discomfort symptoms will immediately improve. He went to the pharmacy to buy one, only a couple of dollars. After using the medicine, the effect was immediate. But over time, just like a drug, Mr. Yang can not leave this small drops more and more.
Mr. Chen, the director of the ENT department, said that Mr. Yang may have mistakenly used the nasal drops and become drug rhinitis. Once examined, Mr. Yang was diagnosed with allergic rhinitis complicated by sinusitis, and the tissue in the nasal cavity was atrophied with symptoms of drug rhinitis.
“You must quit this medicine, I will change you to other low toxicity drugs that can improve the symptoms, it may be difficult to adapt at first, but this medicine must not be used anymore.” Director Chen repeatedly instructed Mr. Yang.
Director Chen said that many nasal drops have a strong vasoconstrictive effect, after application, can make the nasal mucosa vasoconstriction, thus narrowing the turbinates, temporarily improve the ventilation of the nose.
But if you overdose, excessive vasoconstriction, lasting too long, it may lead to “drug rhinitis”, prolonged inappropriate use or abuse of such drugs, may cause pathological changes in the nasal mucosa, affecting the normal activities of the cilia and plant nerves in the nose, inducing hypertrophic rhinitis or atrophic rhinitis. Continuous and overdose for a longer period of time may also produce accumulative effects and induce adverse reactions such as elevated blood pressure and heart rate disorders.
Wang Wei, director of the Western Pharmacy of Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that the “New Pharmacology”, which guides clinical use, clearly states that nasal drops belong to the naphthazolin class of drugs, whose pharmacology is based on adrenaline drugs, which have a vasoconstrictive effect. Too much medicine or accidental swallowing of the medicine can cause poisoning, especially for children, infants, hypertension and hyperthyroidism, and patients with atrophic rhinitis are prohibited. The interval between drops should be at least 4 to 6 hours. Long-term use is not advisable, otherwise it may cause atrophic rhinitis.