Rhinitis is a very common ent disease. Less well known is drug-induced rhinitis, which is often caused by the abuse of nasal drops (including spray and inhalation).
There are three types of common nasal drops (mostly vasoconstrictors) : one is cycloamines; Second, chain amines; The third is imidazole. Abuse, prolonged use of the above drugs, especially the third, will cause rhinitis. This is because the drug acts on the subepithelial capillaries and tiny arteries and veins of the nasal mucosa, causing them to shrink. If the vascular contraction is serious and continuous, the blood vessel wall can be hypoxia, which will cause secondary nasal vasodilation. And the nasal mucosa is becoming less and less sensitive to the drug, it is bound to increase the dosage and the number of uses, so a vicious cycle, serious addiction can not be separated from the drug, and cause more serious nasal congestion, so that the nasal mucosa is seriously damaged. The complications of drug-induced rhinitis include atrophic rhinitis, nasal polyps, sinusitis, otitis media and right heart failure in newborns. In addition, it may also cause hypertension, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracranial arteriole rupture, cerebrovascular spasm, mental disorders and toxic reactions.
The harm caused by improper application of vasoconstrictor has been paid attention to in foreign countries, and a lot of research has been carried out. Unfortunately, domestic attention to this problem has not been generally paid to, clinical often encounter similar patients, and patients mistakenly believe that their "rhinitis" is more stubborn, only repeated treatment is not cured, never thought of is caused by improper use of drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to remind everyone to pay attention.