Why would your nose be stopped up all the time even though you use nose spray?

Answer 1

A trip to the doctor would seem to be in order. Hopefully, they will try to determine the underlying cause of your congestion rather than only treat the symptoms.

There are so many things that could be contributing to your problem, including but not limited to:

• An infection (need doctor to diagnose/treat)
• An obstruction (need doctor to diagnose/treat)
• Deviated septum (need doctor to diagnose/treat)
• Environmental allergens - like pollen, mold, mildew, cats, dogs, insects, perfumes, etc.. You might be able to figure some of these out through process of elimination. There are tests available. Talk to your doctor.
• Food allergens. Milk, for instance, can make mucous thicker which causes discomfort. I found that I can tolerate dairy only in the morning. Any dairy in the afternoon or evening makes sleep difficult. Observing when things are better or worse can help you determine if food Allergies are possible. There are tests available. Talk to your doctor.
• Over-use of medicated nasal sprays can make the issue worse instead of better.

I recently had some issues with continued congestion a month after a cold and I was not getting any sleep. My doctor recommended:

• an antibiotic (prescription) - took care of unknown underlying infection,
• loratadine (OTC, Claritin) - handled allergy symptoms with non-drowsy formula,
• pseudoephedrine (OTC, Sudafed) - opened sinuses, and
• guafenesin (OTC, Mucinex) - thinned out mucous secretions to make swallowing easier and coughing more productive. That seemed to take care of the major issue, though I have continued off-and-on with the OTC medicines.

I find that sleeping inclined on my side works better than flat or on my back.

Answer 2

You're probably making it worse with the nose spray - many of those are designed to be used for 3 days only during a cold - using them longer than that actually makes your nose more stopped up.

If your nose is stopped up a lot, you probably have allergies. Stop the nose spray and start taking a good antihistamine like fexofenadine (Allegra) or loratadine (Claritin).