*was addicted to nasal spray..Nasal drainage problem...

[arni0202]

   I've been struggling with Nasal Spray Addiction but mine goes beyond the recovery stage.  I've been off of the nasal spray for over a year now, but ever since I've had at least one nasal passage full of mucus.  Not only that, but the back of my throat where my nasal passages connect to my throat, there's always a funky taste or smell coming from there.  Gross I know, if I swallow I can feel something.  Ugh it's hard to explain.  but after I told my doctor he sent me to an ear nose and throat doc and he just put me on two weeks of nasal steroids that did nothing.  any suggestions?  could it be a lingering infection of some kind?  The E,N,T Dr. didn't see anything alarming apparently.  I hate the feeling of one nostril always being blocked and full of mucus plus the possible bad breath makes me super self-conscious
:(  somebody help!     Thanks

[Amphora]

Hello and welcome.  I have been addicted to nasal spray for many years, and still am (but that's the LEAST of my problems today...enough said).  However, a friend of mine stopped their addiction to nasal spray by using saline nasal spray (no medication in it; just a weak salt-water solution).  You can use it as often as you want without any of the addiction and "rebound effect" that anticongestant/ medicated nasal sprays cause.  Saline nasal spray also makes the nasal passages "unfriendly" to microbes that might be the cause of the 'funky tase or smell' you are experiencing.  My friend also uses a "nettie-pot," which is a device you can find at any good, large drugstore.  It cleanses your nasal passages by having warm water flow through them.  I've never used one, but follow the directions carefully so you don't feel like you suddenly inhaled water.  A final suggestion: try inhaling the steam (carefully) from a pan of boiling water to which you've added a few drops of eucalyptus oil.  The oil is antimicrobial, helps to naturally clear the nasal passages, and I find that it has a wonderful aroma.  The oil is very concentrated, so you only need a few drops in the boiling water (just don't hold your face too close to the pan, of course!). Please be encouraged that your ENT specialist didn't find anything alarming.  I am NOT a physician, but it sounds as though you might have alergies (allergies)?  Have you been tested for them?  Best of luck to you!  Mike