How to cure a chronic runny nose at home

What could be simpler than an ordinary runny nose, many think and may be wrong. In fact, a runny nose is a signal from the body that a certain pathogen has entered it - a bacterium, virus or allergen. The body is trying hard to get rid of a foreign microorganism, and most often successfully. That is why a healthy person needs about a week to defeat a runny nose. If the runny nose did not go away in 10 days, then the body can not cope. And then you must certainly come to his aid.

Why a runny nose becomes chronic

Indeed, why? Why do some rhinitis go away in a few days, and you suffer from a flow from the nose for long weeks? Here are the main causes of a prolonged runny nose.

1. Incorrect treatment. Incorrect and inadequate treatment is the first cause of a prolonged runny nose. Yes, indeed, there is no need to treat a viral rhinitis - just moisten and ventilate the room, drink a lot so that the cold goes away after 7 days. But if the discharge during a runny nose turned from transparent to thick and green, it means that a bacterial infection has joined, which simply needs to be treated with antibiotics. But many hope for a miracle, avoiding going to the doctor, and get a long, protracted runny nose in response, which can develop into sinusitis and other complications.
2. Allergic rhinitis. In medical practice, this is very common - the patient is treated for a cold, and he has an allergic nature of the disease. This, by the way, is not surprising, because it is quite difficult to distinguish an allergic rhinitis from a cold. With allergies, body temperature is not violated, there is no general malaise. Allergies often occur after contact with an allergen - dust, animal hair, pollen, which provokes odors. Sometimes simple antihistamines solve the problem of prolonged runny nose in one use.
3. Indoor air. If the room has low humidity and dry hot air, this leads to constant drying of the mucosa and a prolonged runny nose. Whatever the treatment, you won’t be able to defeat the common cold until you often ventilate the room. This also includes the constant presence of dust in the air - people who work in harmful and toxic production often suffer from a prolonged runny nose.
4. Vasoconstrictor drugs. With the uncontrolled use of vasoconstrictors, addiction begins and vasomotor rhinitis develops. That is, the vessels can no longer expand and contract on their own. Feeling the constant congestion of the nose, a person again and again uses vasoconstrictor drugs, driving himself into a vicious circle.
5. Adenoids and sinusitis. Sometimes a runny nose is not the main disease, but a symptom of a more serious diagnosis, for example, enlarged adenoids or sinusitis. In this case, frequent exacerbations of the common cold are solved only in one way - by solving the main problem (removal of adenoids, puncture of the maxillary sinuses, etc.).
6. Rhinitis of pregnant women. Often, a runny nose occurs in pregnant women against a background of changes in the hormonal background. It is pointless to treat such a runny nose, you need to wait for the end of the pregnancy period and patiently ease the course of symptoms.
7. The physiological structure of the nose. Sometimes a frequent exacerbation of the common cold is associated with structural features of the nose - septum curvature or polyps.

It is very important to know the cause of the common cold in order to have an idea how to act against it.The most difficult thing is to identify an allergic rhinitis and to distinguish it from a cold. If you still doubt the nature of rhinitis, you just need to donate blood for Immunoglobulin E. Its increased blood counts will indicate an allergic reaction. But the normal indicator indicates the infectious nature of the disease. The treatment of such runny nose is fundamentally different, it is important to understand this.

Medication for lingering rhinitis

Here are the main groups of drugs that are used in the treatment of chronic runny nose.

1. Antibiotics. Their use is advisable only with the bacterial nature of the disease. Only a doctor can determine this. If you have been diagnosed with sinusitis, tonsillitis, or other inflammation, then you are shown antibiotics in the form of tablets, suspensions, or injections. Sometimes the doctor may decide to use only local treatment - washing the nose with Cuckoo using antibacterial solutions.
2. Vasoconstrictor drugs. They can be used during treatment to relieve swelling and relieve nasal congestion. Vasoconstrictive sprays and drops (Vibrocil, Nazivin, Otrivin) are not prescribed for vasomotor rhinitis. Use them should be no more than five days, otherwise they can be addictive. For children - only an age-appropriate medicine and strictly in the specified dosage.
3. Drops with an antibiotic. These are drugs that contain powerful local antibiotics. Among them, one can distinguish Isofra, Protorgol, etc.
4. Herbal preparations. This group of drugs is safer and can be used to treat pregnant and lactating women, children, patients with chronic diseases. Pinosol oil drops contain plant extracts that have an anti-inflammatory effect. Another effective medicine is Sinupret. It relieves nasal congestion, treats protracted rhinitis. Sold in the form of drops and tablets.
5. Antihistamines. Even if you are not allergic to the common cold, you need to take antihistamines during treatment. They will ease the course of the disease - relieve swelling, relieve itching in the nose. You can take Suprastin, Zodak, Zirtek, Diazolin - what you have at home.

The exact complex of drug treatment is determined only by the doctor. It must be shown to the ENT, how much you can suffer with snot ?!

Folk remedies against chronic runny nose

Together with professional treatment from a doctor, you can use traditional medicine methods that will facilitate the flow of symptoms and accelerate the healing process.

1. Rinsing. Very often, with a chronic runny nose, patients go to the ENT, who prescribes them a wash. The procedure, of course, can be done at home, but the use of professional equipment is much more effective - “Cuckoo”. A special apparatus using vacuum will remove stagnant infected mucus from the sinuses. After treatment of the nasal mucosa with antibacterial compounds, the discharge will become much less pronounced. 3-5 washes is enough to completely get rid of a chronic runny nose. If there is no time to go to the doctor, you can do the washing at home with a teapot, syringe or syringe.
2. Inhalation. To inhale hot steam, you can prepare a decoction of medicinal herbs from calendula, marigold, chamomile and mint. Chamomile will soothe the mucous membrane, marigolds will stretch the mucus from the sinuses, mint will relieve nasal congestion, and calendula will have a bactericidal effect. Take one tablespoon of each herb, put in a jar and pour boiling water. After 15 minutes, when the broth is sufficiently infused, but has not yet cooled, it should be poured into a basin or a wide cup. Cover yourself with a towel and inhale the healing fumes through your nose.When the broth has cooled, it can be used to rinse the nose.
3. Nasal drops. This is the most effective and often used remedy at home. Be sure that there are already medicines in your house that can save you from a chronic cold. It is very effective to drip into the nose the diluted juice of Kalanchoe or Aloe - it has many disinfecting properties. You can drip on the mucous juice of beets, cabbage or carrots. It is very effective to mix fir oil with lemon juice and lubricate the resulting nasal mucosa with ointment. Onions and garlic have special phytoncides, the pairs of which penetrate the sinuses and disinfect their cavity, relieving inflammation.
4. Warming up. Sometimes in order to get rid of a long and prolonged runny nose, you need to warm up well. To do this, the patient needs to visit a bath or sauna and inhale hot vapors as long as possible. It is very effective to make a mustard foot bath - dissolve the mustard in hot water and keep your feet in this liquid. After the procedure, you need to wear woolen socks, drink raspberry tea (or vodka with pepper) and go to bed. In the morning there will be no trace of a cold. In addition, a runny nose can be eliminated by directly warming the sinuses. To do this, you can add alcohol lotions, boiled eggs or a clay cake mixed with boiling water to the sinuses on both sides of the nose. It is very effective to warm your nose with sand or salt, heated in a pan.

Acting in conjunction with the main treatment, folk recipes can accelerate recovery and strengthen local immunity.

How to prevent a runny nose into a chronic form

A runny nose is a natural reaction of the body to an external pathogen, and you can’t get anywhere from it. But it depends only on you whether a runny nose will accompany you for a week or will remain in your life for many months.

So that rhinitis does not linger in the body, this same organism must be able to withstand it. To do this, you need to strengthen the immune system in every way. Spend more time in the fresh air, more often get out into the nature, play sports. Eat right - more fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meat, cereals and dairy products; less junk food, soda, and fatty foods. During acute respiratory viral infections, you need to ventilate the room, moisten the air, drink more so that the virus is washed out of the body. In the season of colds and flu, you need to drink more tea with raspberries, honey, ginger and lemon - these are products for strong immunity. If you start to harden, the number of colds colds will be reduced by half. To suppress a runny nose, you can massage the sinuses of the nose to improve blood circulation in this area. But the most important rule that will help prevent the transition of the common cold to a chronic form is a timely visit to a doctor. If a runny nose does not go away in a week and its symptoms only intensify, do not try to guess and self-medicate. The recommendations of an experienced doctor will help you suppress the disease in the bud, and will not allow a runny nose to become chronic.

A runny nose is not as harmless as it seems. When a person’s nose is constantly stuffy, the body suffers a huge lack of oxygen, which affects all organs. Regular use of vasoconstrictor drugs that provide temporary relief is also not an option. It is necessary to solve the problem itself, and not to deal with its consequences. Be on guard of your health and do not let chronic runny nose overpower your body!

Video: how to cure a runny nose in 1 day