Page 79 - (DK) Home Doctor: Providing practical advice on home treatments

COMMON CONDITIONS: MOUTH, NOSE, AND THROAT PROBLEMS 77

Blocked or runny nose

If you have a runny or blocked nose, you feel stuffed up, may lose your sense of taste and smell, and may
only be able to breathe through your mouth. You may cough at night because of mucus dripping down the
back of your throat. If your blocked nose is due to a cold or sinus infection, you may also have a thick
yellowish green discharge from your nose. A blocked or runny nose can also be caused by allergies to
substances such as pollen, dust mites, pet dander (flakes of skin), and mold. Symptoms can occur
at any time or be seasonal, as with hay fever.
See also Common cold, p.78; Sinusitis, p.79; Hay fever, p.80; Coughing, p.102.

What you can do yourself
NATURAL REMEDIES
Try the following home treatments to help relieve
your blocked or runny nose. Essential oils (see p.182) such as menthol,
eucalyptus, or camphor, are traditional treatments
● Drink at least 8 glasses a day of clear fluids such
for a blocked nose. Try sucking lozenges containing
as water, herbal tea, and clear soup. Hot drinks menthol, or putting a few drops of an essential oil
help loosen mucus if your nose is blocked, as will on a tissue and inhaling it. Use a menthol chest rub
saline nose drops (see DRUG REMEDIES, right). at night if you are having difficulty sleeping.
● Try a steam inhalation, or run hot water into
the bath or shower and inhale the steam (see
PRACTICAL TECHNIQUE: STEAM INHALATION, p.79).
DRUG REMEDIES
● Remedies containing essential oils may help
relieve a stuffy nose (see NATURAL REMEDIES, right). Saline nose drops (see p.188) can be
bought from your pharmacist, or you can make your
● If you have a blocked nose due to a cold, try a
own by dissolving half a teaspoon of salt in 1 cup
decongestant nasal spray (see DRUG REMEDIES, right). (250 ml) of lukewarm water. Apply them using a
dropper, 2–4 times a day.
● If your nose is sore from blowing it, apply some
petroleum jelly around your nostrils to protect them. Decongestants (see p.181), available as
nasal sprays or drops, quickly relieve a blocked nose
● To treat a blocked or runny nose caused by an by reducing swelling and congestion in the tissues
allergy, use cromolyn sodium nasal spray and/or lining the nose. They also lessen mucus production.
an oral antihistamine (see DRUG REMEDIES, right). They should not, however, be used for more than
7 days, otherwise they may make you feel more
● Avoid smoke and dust; they can irritate the lining
blocked when you stop using them.
of your nose and worsen symptoms.
Cromolyn sodium nasal spray
(see p.181) helps to prevent or relieve a runny nose
Seek medical advice caused by allergies such as hay fever and dust
mites. It must be used continuously
Arrange to see your doctor if: Antihistamines (see p.178), in the form
● Symptoms have not begun to clear up of pills or liquids, usually work within 1 hour. You
can use them to relieve a runny nose due to allergies,
using the measures described here
● You develop new symptoms but they are not so effective for a blocked nose. They
can be taken regularly or only as needed – for
● You are using medications continually
example, if you are visiting a house with pets.
to relieve your blocked or runny nose