What Is Rebound Congestion?

Rebound congestion is when nasal congestion gets worse because you have overused a nasal decongestant spray like Afrin (oxymetazoline) to treat your symptoms. Rebound congestion is also known as rhinitis medicamentosa, chemical rhinitis, nasal spray addiction.

Your nasal passages can develop a dependence to these medications rather quickly. That's why prescribers and product labels say to limit use to three days.

How Decongestants Work

A common belief is that congestion is caused by mucus blocking your nasal passages. This is only partially true. The underlying cause of congestion lies in the blood vessels that line your nose. Certain conditions can cause these vessels to become swollen or constrict.

When the blood vessels in your nasal passages become swollen due to a cold, allergies, sinusitis, exercise, or hormonal changes, congestion occurs. However, when the blood vessels constrict, there is more space in the airways and your symptoms subside.

Causes of Rebound Congestion

The reasons why rebound congestion occurs are complicated and not well understood. you may again begin to feel severe congestion, which is only relieved by the additional use of a nasal decongestant spray. Thus, a vicious cycle is set up. This is thought to be related to two possible causes:

• Use of nasal decongestant causes inadequate blood supply (because of the constriction of blood vessels) which causes swelling to occur in your nasal passages.
• Use of nasal decongestants causes nasal receptors that respond to decongestants to down-regulate (reduce in numbers) which leads to congestion.

Diagnosis

When evaluating you for rebound congestion, your healthcare provider will take a thorough medication usage history as well as perform a nasal exam. Typically with rebound congestion, your nasal passages will appear to be red with a thicker than the normal nasal mucous membrane.

Treatment

If you are already addicted to a nasal spray, talk to your healthcare provider. Some healthcare provider may recommend a gradual decrease in the use of the medication until you are completely weaned off it. This may be preferable than trying to quit the medication outright, which may result in severe congestion for a number of days.

For example, if your rebound congestion was caused by Afrin and your healthcare provider gave you a prescription for "Rhinostat" you would essentially receive Afrin in a special bottle that allows you to very gradually decrease the dose because of the way it is dispensed.

Another class of medications, called nasal corticosteroids, may also be helpful during the process of weaning off of nasal decongestants. Oral steroids are also sometimes used but only as a last resort. The first week is usually the most difficult and you may experience severe congestion and headaches which then begin to subside.

Treating the underlying condition for which nasal decongestants were originally used is also an important part of the treatment process.