You know - if you don’t have anything positive or helpful to say, maybe go be nasty somewhere else.
As for neti pots - the danger in using them comes from (1) Not using sterilized water and (2) Not cleaning the pot thoroughly. Otherwise, nasal flushing can be helpful and I have used a neti pot in the past.
Personally, I would love to see alcohol banned and marijuana legalized. Alcohol overuse and abuse has caused so much damage to families and society.
We tried that before – it didn’t work out all that well.
oh, good!
Then you haven’t stopped.
Careful, she’s litigious.
I’m curious how you know that the perforated septum was the result of the nasal spray?
OK, when you bought the nasal spray did you bother to read the box it came in? The back of the bottle? It states VERY CLEARLY you are not to use it more than 3 days. Yet you admit you continued to do so.
So… you’re blaming a product for harming you when you did not follow instructions? It’s like blaming Ford Motor Company because you got a speeding ticket.
Did it occur to you that if your condition did not get better after three days you should have gone to a doctor rather than continue dosing yourself, especially since the medication came with instructions not to use it longer than three days?
Did you decide on your own that the spray caused a perforation? Could it have been related to what caused your “stuffiness” in the first place rather than the spray?
This is not being mean, this is the sort of questions a lawyer will ask if you go to court. Given one of the subsequent quotes, you might want to consider your answer.
I think people should follow medication instructions. Which you admit you did not.
If you’re considering joining a suit you’re litigious. There’s nothing wrong with suing someone who has done you harm, but it sounds to me like you contributed to your own problem here by failing to follow instructions properly.
The biggest danger is a type of amoeba that is more commonly found in the southern part of the US, but even there is very rare. On the other hand, it’s also very deadly as it literally eats your brain. Easily avoided by using only sterile/distilled/water boiled for at least three minutes. Also, always a good idea to clean up your neti pot after using it.
A properly used neti pot is not dangerous. Like a lot of other things, you need to follow the instructions.
Why the frick are you still using this?
You need to QUIT, not “cut back”. You’ve clearly demonstrated you have trouble following directions in regards to medications, you’ve been addicted to it, you have a deviated septum and maybe something else going on… unless your doctor has given you instructions to continue using this (and you are capable of following those instructions) you need to stop using oxymetazoline COMPLETELY.
We tried banning alcohol. It turned out it caused more problems than it solved. Sorry, not a perfect world.
My ENT said once a week or less is fine. I guess, for you super-literal types, I should have I immediately cut down to using it maybe once a week or less.
Your screen name fits you well, by the way.
There is a difference between addiction and dependency. I was dependent, not addicted. As I have previously stated, my ENT said once a week or less is OK - and the few times I have used it is so that I can sleep. I can’t use things like breathe right strips because I am sensitive to the adhesive and it causes a rash. And, I don’t have a deviated septum - I have a perforated septum - big difference. Good grief, I never would have posted here if I had known people would be so judgmental. But I’m happy that you all are so healthy and perfect.
BTW, the alcohol comment was really just sarcasm as I know banning it would never happen.
Correlation is not causation.
If your doc says it’s OK then I’ll go with that, given he is the professional and has seen you in real life.
If only you had posted this in braille!!! 
Now I can’t read a DAMN thing.
I guess I’ve been living with my head in the sand because I never heard anything about nasal sprays being so addictive. I do use them as a treatment of last resort when congestion gets so bad my eyeballs feel like they are going to pop out of my head if I don’t do something. But I’ve never used them more than twice each headcold episode.
Thanks for the information. I’ll make certain to keep close track of my usage in the future.
I might have missed it, but I don’t see where you explained how you know that the perforated septum was caused by the nasal spray.
She pushed the tip in a bit to hard?
My ENT said that the perforation was caused by the nasal spray.
sorry- without more details - I call bullshit.
Long term use of nasal decongestants is, in fact, one of the recognized causes of perforated nasal septum.
Do you have a cite for that? I’d like to “see it” for myself.
There are a lot of cites in medical literature; this one isn’t behind a pay wall – Medscape. (I’m going to ask the docs at work if they know the % breakdown of septum perforation causes or how I can find out, because now I’m just curious…)
Nasal spray overuse is a less embarrassing cause than “nose picking”, but has less of an aura of cool-rocker-chick/wealthy socialite than “cocaine use”.